Best Kept Secrets
by jmaddox1815
Summary: She'd loved him once upon time. She'd wanted a future with him. She never dreamed that she'd secret away their child, protecting the little girl from the drug addict he became. For seven years, she'd hid, but her job brought her back to D.C. and Dr. Spencer Reid. Now her carefully constructed life of lies was going to come tumbling down, and she hoped she could pick up the pieces.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Chancellor and Rune. Everything else belongs to the studio and writers. I do not make a profit from this.**_

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_**Hi everyone!**_

_**Thank you for taking the time to read my latest story. For those that have followed me over from my other stories, welcome back! For those new to my writing, I'm glad to have you! This story will be a little more angsty and a little less romantic than things I've written in the past. At this point, I'm not even sure if Reid and my OFC, Chancellor, will end up together.**_

_**This entire story was inspired by a throw away line between Reid and JJ after Maeve's death. Reid makes the comment that he was going to have children, and JJ told him he still would. This of course, inspired the clichéd, yet ever popular, he does but he just doesn't know it.**_

_**For anyone looking for a Reid fic in which he is an demisexual, inexperienced, bumbling virgin, this is not the story for you. While I do believe he is demisexual, I also believe he's had relationships in the past, more than just Maeve or Lila, and yes, those relationships involved sex at some point or another.**_

_**On a side note, for everyone waiting for the rewrite of Clueless, which, yes, I completely removed, I'm still working on it. It's a slow but steady progress and, when I've finished, I will upload one chapter every two days. Until then, bear with. I promise Bailey and Bruce will come back with their happy ending.**_

_**Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy Best Kept Secrets.**_

_**Love,**_

_**J.M.**_

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Chancellor Williams smiled gratefully to the barista, taking her ridiculously complicated frozen coffee drink to a corner table to sit and wait. It was awkward being in D.C. after so many years away. At the tender age of twenty-two, she ran for her life after a bad break-up. It wasn't that her ex was in any way dangerous, but he had a terrible drug problem and, considering her condition at the time, she needed to be as far away from that as possible.

It had been seven years though. Seven years of living in an out of the way little town, making the hundred mile round trip each day to the nearest large city to go to her job as a political assistant. When her boss had finally graduated from a state level career to something federal, she'd been nervous about moving back to her nation's capital, but the pay raise and prospect of better schooling for her child had outweighed any reservations she had.

Her dear uncle, the reason she'd decided to go to college on the east coast at all, was long gone, travelling the country in his retirement, but he promised to come by for holidays. It softened the blow of leaving the life she'd built in Mississippi. It wasn't as if she was coming to a completely foreign territory either. Most of her college friends still lived in the area, working for various politicians or serving as legislators themselves, and a couple of the acquaintances she'd met through her uncle still worked in his old unit at the FBI.

That's why she was here, in this little coffee shop, on her day off while her daughter was away at summer camp. Penelope Garcia and her "Chocolate Adonis" wanted to catch up. Chancellor's gut twisted with fear. She had to be very careful not to mention Rune around them. No one from the prestigious BAU division knew of her daughter's existence, and she wanted to keep it that way. She couldn't risk the father finding out and demanding to be a part of Rune's life, especially not if he was still suffering from his addiction.

She vaguely wondered if Penny and Derek would even recognize her when they arrived. Chancellor had been a shy, awkward student when they last saw her. She'd kept her long, copper hair pinned up in a tight bun, wore little to no make-up, and thought ragged blue jeans and t-shirts were appropriate for any occasion. Now she'd chopped all that hair off into a short pixie cut, wore light make-up that accentuated her grey eyes and wide, full lips, and dressed like the middle-class professional she was. She was still frighteningly slender. Even after a pregnancy and years of eating food that would make most nutritionists cringe, her ribs were visible when she took her shirt off and the bumps of her spine could serve as xylophone. Her daughter didn't stand a chance of ever being large or even curvy. Her father was as frightening slender as she was. Rune would always be short and slight, god save her. Chancellor only hoped that her daughter wouldn't suffer for it as she got older.

Two pale hands covered her eyes. Laughing, she pulled them down, angling her head back to get her first look at the bubbly tech analyst since she left for Mississippi. All her fear vanished, and Chancellor jumped to her feet, pulling the woman into a tight hug. "It's so good to see you."

"What? No love for me?" Derek joked, pulling her away from Garcia and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"Oh, I'm even happier to see you." Chancellor squeezed his waist, relishing in the quiet joy being around them made her feel. Derek had been her clubbing companion before she settled into a relationship, while she and Penny had spent many girls' nights in the tech analyst's small apartment, watching chick flicks and drinking wine.

Penny pried them apart, coming in for a second hug. "I can't believe you're here! I mean, I know you said you'd be here, and I'm so glad you told me you moved back, but being told something and seeing it with your own eyes are two completely separate things." She pulled back, looking Chancellor over. "You've grown up so much! How old are you now?"

"Twenty-nine." Chancellor replied, smiling indulgently. "Maturity does wonders for a person."

"I'm going to go get coffee." Derek interrupted, pressing a kiss to each of their temples. "Do you want your usual, baby girl?"

"Pretty please." Penny spouted off, still studying Chancellor. It was as if she were mentally cataloguing every little change the younger woman had made. "The biggest one you can get."

He nodded, heading toward the counter. Still grinning, Chancellor tugged Penny to sit at the table with her. "So, start talking. What's been happening in your life?"

"Uh-uh. You first." Garcia snatched Chancellor's drink, taking a long sip. "What have you been doing? Why are you back? How's Gideon?"

"I've been working." Two jobs it felt like sometimes. Being a single mother was no picnic. "That's why I moved back. My boss was elected to Congress and, instead of letting his staff back in Mississippi go, offered us a pay raise and a bonus to cover moving expenses if we came to D.C. with him." A bonus that, coupled with the profit from selling her old house, allowed her to put a hefty down payment on a new townhouse in the heart of D.C. and still allowed her to cover her daughter's first year of tuition, her summer camp expenses, and put some away in savings. She had a very generous boss. "Uncle Jason is doing great. Still travelling, and he's made up with my cousin. They'll all be out for Thanksgiving, though, last time I checked, Uncle Jason was in the process of driving to Alaska."

"Alaska? What's in Alaska?"

"Its part of his quest to spend at least two months in all fifty states. After Alaska, he still has six states to go." Chancellor smiled. Tory had a cork board in her room, plastered with post cards from any tourist trap Uncle Jason happened to step foot in. Her cousin had yet to have children, so Uncle Jason treated Tory like the grandchild he didn't have yet. "What about you? What have you been up to."

"Murder, mayhem, and therapy. The usual." Penny replied, laughing. "I've been shot, shot at, proposed to, and dumped. Oh, and I managed to convince the team to switch from paper files to digital."

"Yeah, I think I care a little less about the digital files than the whole being shot thing."

The tech analyst pulled down her shirt just far enough for Chancellor to catch sight of the small, puckered scar on her sternum. "There was an angel of death that I had the misfortune of going on a date with. Of course, he kind of targeted me since he thought I was onto him about his murders, but still."

"Details, please."

Grinning, Penelope related the whole story, transitioning into her meeting of Kevin and their relationship as Derek came back to the table with their drinks. In retaliation for her earlier theft, Chancellor took a sip of Penny's coffee before the tech analyst could get to it. Derek rolled his eyes, switching drinks with her and letting her try his as well. It was a long standing tradition between the three of them. They even did it at bars. "Have you asked her about Gideon yet?"

"He's driving to Alaska. He wants to spend two months in every state."

"Six states to go. He's saving Hawaii for last. He says he's going to truly retire there."

"That's one place we have yet to have a case." Derek groused, taking his drink back from Chancellor. "We normally end up in California or Texas. I'm getting a little tired of heat and humidity."

"But you want to go to Hawaii?" Chancellor asked, arching an eyebrow.

He grinned. "Hawaii has other attractions."

"Like Savannah would let you enjoy them." Penny teased, poking his ribs.

"Who's Savannah?"

"Oh! I didn't tell you! Our ladies' man is settling down."

"I wouldn't call it settling down." Derek objected. "We've only been dating for a few months."

"That's longer than you used to give women." Chancellor pointed out. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She wanted so badly to ignore it, but it could have to do with Rune. Just in case, she glanced at the screen. Sure enough, it was her daughter's camp. "Excuse me. I have to take this."

She hurried away from the table, sliding her thumb across the screen to answer it. One of the things she loved most about this sleep-away camp was that they didn't hem-haw around the point. Susan, the director, got straight to it. "Does your daughter have a stuffed animal she prefers?"

"She has a Jack Skellington plushie that she sleeps with. I sent it with her."

"I think it may have gotten lost in transit."

"Great." Chancellor reigned in the desire to curse. "Can you receive packages at camp?"

"Of course, ma'am."

"I'll send a new one there. Tell Rune that it dropped in the car and that I'm mailing it to her. And ask her to give me a call tonight. When she doesn't have her plushie, a bed time story usually helps calm her down enough to sleep."

"How long will it take to get the new plushie here? Campers are only supposed to use the telephone in case of emergencies."

"I'll overnight it. It'll be there the day after tomorrow at the latest."

"Thank you, Ms. Becker. As a side note, Rune is one of our favorite campers. She's a bit younger than the others, but she's incredibly intelligent. She's able to keep up with projects and studies years ahead of her age group."

"She gets that from her father." Chancellor sighed, already missing her little girl. She'd only left a week ago. "Thank you. I'll order the new doll immediately. I promise."

"You're welcome and thank you, Ms. Becker. I'll have Rune call you this evening."

Chancellor hung up the phone, sighing as she opened the Amazon app and quickly punched in her order. Actually cursing this time, she realized she'd have to go back to her purse to get the camp's address. "I'm sorry about this." She murmured, digging into the bag as she came back to the table. "This will only take a second."

"Why does your boss need a plushie?" Penny asked, craning her neck to get a look at the phone. Derek snatched the device away, and the two scrolled through her previous purchases. "Or a Frozen play set? Or The Guardians of Childhood book series? Do you buy his children's presents?"

"Not exactly." Chancellor hedged, gently prying her phone away from the nosy duo. She desperately tried to think of a reason why she was buying so many child-related items without letting on that she had a child herself. "Just give me a moment. A little girl lost her plushie and I have to replace it."

"Are you a Big Sister?" Derek guessed, watching as she smoothed the camp paperwork out so that she could type in the address.

"Nope. Only child."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know." Her fingers flew over the screen, and she deftly confirmed the order. Quickly, she tucked the phone back into her pocket. "Sorry about that. Anyway, tell me more about Savannah."

Derek crossed his arms over his chest, giving her a look that she remembered all too well. She was in trouble and, until she confessed, she wasn't going to get anywhere with them. "Why so many kid's purchases, Chance?"

Sighing, Chancellor tapped out a random beat on the table. There was no way around confessing to be a mother, but maybe she could hedge around a few other details so that they wouldn't guess who the father was. "Surprise! I'm a mommy!"

Penelope squealed, lunging across the table. "Oh my goodness! That's great! Boy or girl? How old?"

"Why didn't you lead with that?" Derek added, voice still firm.

"Rune is a little girl. She's six. And I don't talk about my daughter with many people. It's something I consider personal."

"And you can't talk to us about personal things?"

"I _don't_ talk with many people about something so personal. Especially not people I haven't seen in seven years." Penny's face fell and Chancellor felt guilt rising in her stomach. "It's not that you're not still my friends, but people, and situations, change. I wanted to wait until we got to know each other again before I started talking about Rune."

"Why are you so protective of her?"

"Because she's my daughter." The tone she used made it sound like that should be obvious, but Derek was a seasoned profiler. He knew that wasn't the full story. Chancellor heaved out another sigh. "And because the situation with her father is… complicated. I try to shield her from as much of that as possible."

"Did you get into a DV situation after you left us, little bit?" Derek asked, his voice switching from firm to worried.

Chancellor quickly shook her head. "No. No. Nothing like that. It's just complicated. It's something I really can't talk about, with anyone. As far as Rune is concerned, and most people who know about her, the father is unknown."

"But not us?"

"Because it's so easy to lie to y'all."

"Fair enough." Derek settled back in his chair.

Penelope, still a little hurt, watched the younger woman worriedly. "Do you have a picture of her?"

Chancellor nodded, reluctantly pulling her phone out and scrolling to the most recent picture she had of her daughter. She'd taken it as she'd dropped her off at camp. Her daughter was in the camp-issued red shorts and white t-shirt, with her sandy blond curls pulled back in a high ponytail and her amber eyes slightly obscured by the glasses she wore. She silently prayed that Derek and Penny wouldn't notice the stark resemblance Rune bore to her father.

"She's adorable." Penny breathed out, flipping through the other pictures. "Is she reading Edgar Allen Poe?"

"He's one of her favorites." Chancellor beamed. "She also likes Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, the Guardians of Childhood, as well as Star Wars. The books, not the movies. She calls the movies a travesty."

"There are many Star Wars fans that would stone her for that." Derek joked, peering over Penny's shoulder to look at the photos. "So you're raising a little nerd?"

"I hope so. Nerds are so much more fun."

"Amen, sister." Penny held her hand up for a high five. "Did she dress as Dr. Who for Halloween?"

"Nope. That was costume day at school."

"And this one, is that Captain America?"

"We got lucky and went to a ComicCon that had Chris Evans there posing for pictures with fans. I thought she was going to have an aneurysm, she was so excited."

"Yummy. I can't blame her."

"Hey! I thought I was your sexy man!" Derek teased.

"I can appreciate more than one sculpted god of perfection." Penny handed the phone back. "She's absolutely gorgeous, Chance."

"Thank you." Chancellor smiled down at the photo Penny had left the screen on. It was a picture of the two of them at the beach. They were both wet, bedraggled messes that had just been tossed around in the ocean, but the smile on Rune's face was perfect. Wide, happy and carefree, just the way a child's smile was supposed to be. "She's my life."

"Who knows about her?"

"A couple people I work with and my family."

"And who knows about her father?"

"Me." And Uncle Jason, but Chancellor wasn't going to mention that. She didn't need to give them any more clues as to who the father was. That was a secret she'd go to her grave with if she had her way. "Like I said, as far as most people are concerned, Rune's father is an unknown."

"Were things that bad with him, little bit?" Derek asked, concern creeping back into his voice.

She smiled sadly. "Her father was perfect. He was everything I wanted in a man and then some. But he fell on bad times and what he got involved with was destructive. I couldn't have a child around that."

"Did you try to talk to him?"

"I was going to tell him the night it all fell apart." Visions of her former boyfriend, a needle in his arm and vacant expression in his eyes, still haunted her. "I caught him in the act, though. It wasn't the first time, either. He wanted his vices more than anything else, and I had to decide what was best. I could either keep fighting, putting stress on myself and my child, or I could get out and make sure Rune had the best chance possible for a healthy, normal life."

"And you chose the latter."

"And I would again." She lifted her chin defiantly. "I had to do what was best for my daughter."

Derek held up his hands. "I'm not blaming you. Not many women would have made that choice." His cellphone beeped and he cursed, looking at the screen. "I'm sorry, Chance. But we've got a case."

She waved off his apology, standing to give them each a hug. "It's fine. I remember how it goes." Clasping Penny's elbows in her hands, she leaned back, smiling apologetically at the tech analyst. "I'm sorry. I should have told you about Rune straight off. Now that you know, maybe when you're case is over, you guys could come over for supper sometime. Rune won't be back for a month, but that just means that I can actually drink a glass of wine instead of having milk."

"Do you still make that yummy vegan pizza?"

"I still have the recipe. Rune and I tend to be omnivores."

"You make the pizza. I'll bring the wine."

"And I'll bring my sexy self." Derek joked. "We'll call you when we finish the case. Maybe we can make a team gathering of it. I know JJ will want to see you, and Hotch has his own stories to tell. Plus, you need to meet Rossi and Blake."

"Let's not forget that it would get the dreaded task of seeing our boy genius over with." Penny quipped. "I know you've probably been dreading that."

Chancellor winced. "I'm not sure Spencer would want to come. He and I-"

"He's changed a lot, and he's recovering from his own trials right now." Penny winced. "His last girlfriend… It's not my story to tell, but it's shattered him. It might be good for him to see that someone he used to love is still alive and thriving."

"He never loved me, Penelope." The shattered heart she'd worked so hard to repair after her flight from D.C. fractured a bit at the confession, but it was true. "I loved him, but I wasn't what he needed."

"I think he came as close to loving you as he could anyone at the time." Garcia whispered. "And, love or not, I think it would help."

Mentally preparing a list of all the photos she'd have to hide, including the framed copy of Rune's birth certificate, Chancellor caved. "If he wants to come, of course he's more than welcome."

"And we've got to go." Derek pulled Penny away, tucking the tech analyst under his arm. "We'll call you when we get back. It was good to see you again, Chance."

"You too, Derek. Give the team my love."

Chancellor watched them go with a heavy feeling hanging over her heart. She shouldn't have agreed to the team meal, but Penny's eyes had been so pleading ,and she'd already hurt the bubbly and vivacious woman by withholding information about Rune. It would be OK. She'd hide the photos, claim she hadn't gotten around to hanging them yet, and let her phone die before the team arrived so that they couldn't get a look at Rune that way. She'd keep her daughter safe. No one needed to know about Dr. Spencer Reid's child.

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_**Please read and review.**_


	2. Chapter 2

"You're late." Hotch grumped as Derek and Penelope rushed into the conference room."

"Sorry." Penny babbled, grabbing the remote and setting up the screen. "Chancellor is back in town. We were having coffee. You should see her. She'd grown up so much. I can't believe she's almost thirty. And she's a mo-"

"Baby girl!" Derek barked, cutting her off.

Garcia flushed. "Sorry."

JJ perked up in her seat. "Chance is back. Is she visiting or-"

"She's staying. Her job moved her when her boss was elected to Congress." Derek supplied, pulling up the case file on his tablet. "She's invited us all to her house for dinner when we get back."

"Chancellor is really back?" Spencer asked quietly, eyes wide. He never thought she'd step foot in D.C. again. Gideon had told him as much just after he got clean. As part of his recovery, he'd tried making amends to everyone he'd wronged. He'd wanted to make amends to Chancellor most of all.

The rest of the team knew what was happening. They didn't confront him on it at the time. JJ later explained that they thought it was best to let him work through it on his own. They thought any intervention on their part would only result in him pushing them farther away.

Chancellor had no such qualms. She tried, again and again, during the months that he was using, to get him help. She tried appealing to his intellect by bringing him material on addiction and treatment programs. She tried appealing to his psyche by urging him to talk about the reasons behind his drug use. Finally, she tried appealing to his emotions. That night was still like a bad dream. He'd been higher than he'd ever been before, close to an overdose. Chancellor had found him with the needle still in his arm. She dropped him in a cold shower, begged him to think about what he was doing to himself, his friends, his family, and her, and, finally, told him that she couldn't do it anymore. She laid down an ultimatum. Either he sought help, or she left. As high as he was, so deep in the Dilaudid's grip, he'd chosen the drugs. True to her word, she packed up every item belonging to her that had somehow made its way into his apartment over the months, and walked away. She graduated a week later and, rather taking the job with a prominent senator in D.C., a job she'd been so excited about, accepted an offer from a bit politician in Mississippi.

Gideon had kept him updated at first, letting him know that she'd bought a house, enjoyed her job, etc. The agent that had been like a mentor to Spencer also warned him not to contact her. He never said it in so many words, but Spencer got the impression that he'd hurt Chancellor more than he ever realized. After Gideon left, he lost all information on her, too embarrassed to ask Garcia to dig for him. Over the years, she'd faded in his memory a bit, replaced with the bartender for a time, then surpassed by Maeve, but the guilt never truly left.

"Is she… How is she?" Spencer asked haltingly.

Garcia gave him a pitying look. "She's wonderful, dear genius. Happy and healthy. She has a little girl that she absolutely adores and-"

"Penelope!" Derek groaned rubbing his temples. "Really? Twice in five minutes?"

"Chance is a mother?" Hotch asked, sitting down. "How old is her daughter?"

"Six. And she's so beautiful. You should see her, Hotch. She has these adorable blond curls and the prettiest hazel eyes. Oh, and she's a little geek. She reads Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and Edgar Allen Poe and dressed up like Dr. Who for her costume day at school. And she has this adorable little Jack Skellington plushie that she apparently loves, because she lost it at camp and Chance had to order her a new one. Oh! And-"

"She's six?" Spencer interrupted, suspicion growing in him. "Chance has a blond six-year old with hazel eyes that's intelligent enough to understand lengthy chapter books?"

"Yep." Garcia beamed, oblivious to the dawning horror on the faces of Morgan, Hotch, and JJ. "Her name is Rune."

Blake and Rossi exchanged confused glances. "I'm sorry, but who is this again?"

"She's Gideon's niece." Hotch supplied. "She and her uncle were close. She spent a lot of time in the office. We all knew her."

"And adored her." JJ added. "She was great. She looked after us like a mother hen. Every time we came in from a case, she always had a personalized plate of baked goods waiting for us."

"She helped Haley with Jack after he was born too." Hotch added. "I remember one time Gideon was so angry with her because she skipped class to give Haley some rest while I was out on a long case."

"And she was the one who took care of us when we were sick." Derek added. "She'd invade with cold compresses, Tylenol, and chicken noodle soup and camp out on our couches until we were better."

Spencer nodded along, trying to go with the change of subject, but his mind wouldn't let go of the suspicion. Chance had been uncommonly sick their last few weeks together. He'd assumed it was the stress of finals and his addiction, but the timeline and the physical description of her child made him think that maybe she'd been pregnant. Then again, Chancellor, for all her intelligence, was also emotional. For all he knew, she could have had a rebound relationship shortly after she moved. "Who is the child's father?"

"She doesn't know." Derek put in sharply, sending Garcia a warning glare.

"Why the interest, Reid?" Rossi asked, smirking slightly. Spencer's depression after Maeve frightened him. This girl, whoever she was, was the first signs of interest the good doctor had shown in anything besides work and moping about his lost love.

Reid blushed to the tips of his ears. "Chancellor and I… dated, for a while, before she left."

"Chance wouldn't have a child without telling the father." JJ stated. A worried glance passed between Garcia and Derek as comprehension finally dawned on the tech analyst. JJ resolved to get them alone and interrogate them later. "If she says she doesn't know, then she doesn't know."

Spencer nodded. Of course she wouldn't. Chance had been raised by her older brother. She knew the importance of family. If there was a chance for her child to have two parents, she would take it. He was being silly to think otherwise. Still, on the heels of his conversation with JJ, when he said he was going to have children, it was a hope and fear that clung despite all logical reasoning said it wasn't possible.

"The meaning of the name Rune does mean secret in Old Germanic." Blake pointed out quietly, reading the wish and ignoring the terror in Reid's face.

"And, in certain translation, Chancellor means keeper of secrets. It's just a play on her name." Derek stated firmly. "Don't we have a case?"

"Right. Yeah." Garcia clicked a button, bringing up the bodies of four disemboweled men. "You're going to Topeka, my lovelies. Gay men in the area are being targeted. Personally, I blame Westboro Baptist, but I'm not the profiler."

Slowly, everyone pulled their attention from Chancellor and Reid's suspicions regarding her child, focusing instead on the case at hand. Hotch looked at Reid worriedly. One thing was for certain, his youngest team member was going to be distracted until her talked to the young woman they'd all once seen as part of their family. He only hoped that Spencer was wrong and the nervous glances Derek kept shooting toward Garcia were being misinterpreted. If not, there was a storm coming that could further shatter the already broken genius.

* * *

Garcia smiled, chirping pleasantly at the team as they gathered their go bags and headed for the jet. She was doing everything in her power to keep Reid's mind off the possibility of being a father. She didn't want to believe it, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Every detail Chance had divulged about her daughter's father pointed to the trying relationship Gideon's niece had worked so hard to keep going during Reid's addiction.

She couldn't count the number of time Chance had escaped to Garcia's apartment, stressed to the point of tears, while she battled with the boy genius over his drug use. It hadn't shocked her when the girl finally called it quits, even though it broke her heart to see her leave. At the time, she couldn't understand why the break-up meant that Chancellor had to move so far away, but, if the catalyst for the final split was an impending pregnancy, it made more sense. Chance just didn't need to get away from Reid, she needed to get her child somewhere where Reid's addiction could never touch them.

She waited until the doors slid closed behind her beloved team before rushing to her office. Pulling up the protected file she swore she'd never used, she quickly punched in a number that remained unknown to everyone but herself and Kevin. As she counted the rings, she prayed that the man would answer.

"Jason Gideon."

"Gideon. It's Garcia. Please don't hang up." Penelope said quickly, clutching the phone in her hand. "Please. I'm not calling because of a case, or to ask you to come back, or even to check in. I've had your number for years and I never bothered you. I promise, if it wasn't important, I wouldn't be calling."

There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. "What happened, Garcia?"

"It's your niece, Chancellor."

"Is she alright?"

"She's fine." Garcia assured him. "She's back in D.C. though and-"

"I know."

"I know you know. That's not why I'm calling. I'm calling because of her daughter."

"What about Rune?"

"I'm going to ask you something, and I need you to answer honestly, because you owe us. I know why you left, and I get it, but the way you did it was wrong and you broke a lot of hearts. So you're going to make up for it and you're going to tell me the truth right now or I swear I will give this number to every academy cadet with instructions to call with every single trivial question they might have and-"

"What is the question, Garcia?" Gideon snapped.

She sucked in a deep breath. She didn't want to know, but she had to know. "Is Spencer Rune's father?"

"Rune doesn't have a father."

"Sperm donor then! Supplier of the second X chromosome! I don't care what you call it! I want to know if he's the other parent."

"You should talk to Chancellor about this."

"I'm getting ready to send an e-mail, Gideon, and you know what in it."

There was a moment of silence. "And if he is?"

"Why didn't Chance ever tell him? Why didn't she tell any of us? Why didn't you tell any of us? Spencer got clean! Don't you think he deserved to know?"

"Whoa. Whoa. Slow down, Penelope." She could hear some rustling and the sound of a bell ringing as he stepped through a door. "Chance didn't tell him because he was using. She didn't tell anyone else because she didn't want him to know. I didn't tell anyone because I was put in a spot where I had to choose between my family and my team and I chose my family. Yes, he stopped using, but he wasn't well. Until he had kicked the addition for good, no, he didn't deserve to know, and I wasn't going to risk Rune growing up with a father hooked on Dilaudid."

"But now Chance is back and Spencer is figuring it out and-"

"And, if he does, then he and Chancellor will work it out among themselves." Gideon's voice softened. "Do you remember how it was during the last month of their relationship? We were all caught between a rock and a hard place, wanting to do what we knew was best for Reid, but also wanting to side with and a take care of Chancellor. In the end, all we could do was offer our support and pray. That's the choice we have now."

"So I shouldn't tell him?" Garcia asked quietly.

"You shouldn't get involved." He stressed. "Chancellor and Reid have to handle this on their own."

"But…"

"No, Garcia. This is between them. This is their child. If he ever confronts her on it, it will be up to them to figure out the next steps. Until then, offer your support and pray."

Garcia nodded, still clenching the phone in a white-knuckled grip. "This isn't right, Gideon."

"It's never been right, Garcia, but Chancellor was doing what she thought was best and Spencer wasn't stable enough to be a father. I hear he's changed, that he's truly clean now. If that's the case, then great, maybe Chancellor will relent and let him be a part of Rune's life. If not, then remember that Chancellor has given birth and raised Rune completely alone. Rune is _her _child and it's not our place to make decisions that affect that little girl."

"But if Reid is her father-"

"Then he has to work out something with Chancellor. Do not get involved, Garcia. Support and prayer."

"Support and prayer. Support and prayer. Ugh! Ok. I can do this. Should I tell Derek?"

"I think you should forget what you know, grab a bowl of popcorn, and sit back to watch this travesty in motion, but, as it stands, no, you should not tell Morgan. You shouldn't tell anyone. It's no one's business but Reid's and Chancellor's."

"Right. Not my business. Support and prayer. Keep the secret." She cracked her knuckles. "Thank you, Gideon. How are you doing?"

He huffed out a laugh. "I'm fine, Garcia. Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm still 600 miles away from the Alaskan border and I'd like to make it before nightfall."

"Ok. Thank you again."

"You're welcome. And… watch out for my niece, please. Her relationship with Reid nearly broke her once. I don't want it to happen again."

"Engaging in mama bear mode, sir."

"Thank you. Good-bye, Garcia."

She waited for the click that signaled his hang-up, then quickly shot off a text to her chocolate Adonis. Screw Gideon. Someone else needed to know.

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	3. Chapter 3

_**princesslolitatheorca654: **__**Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it.**_

_**Guest: Thanks! Here's one more chapter and I should have another one up by the end of the night.**_

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Because it's not like fortune could even smirk at her. Instead, Reid was coming, and one glance at Rune's face would seal it. He'd know the secret she kept all these years and there would be hell to pay. If not from him, then from others.

Derek had probably figured it out by now. She'd ran over their conversation a thousand times since the coffee shop, and she'd let go of far too much information regarding Rune's father. He was a skilled profiler. It wouldn't take him long to put the pieces together. He'd tell Garcia and Garcia, bless her heart, couldn't keep a secret to save her life. She was surprised she hadn't already gotten an angry phone call from the tech analyst, berating her for keeping such a secret from the man who sired the greatest gift fate had ever given her.

Pulling the last photo down, she quickly ran up the stairs and shoved the box in her closet, covering it with a collection of old clothes she had yet to take to the thrift store. Penelope would be here within the hour to help her start cooking, and she needed to make sure the house was child-free by then. Cautiously, she picked her way through each room, hiding the flotsam and jetsam that accumulated with from living with a school-age child who loved arts and crafts. By the time she was finished, the only reminder of her new status as "Mommy" was a finger-painting attached to the fridge that she refused to take down. Rune had made it for her just before she left for camp and Chancellor would be damned before she allowed it to be hidden away.

She peeked in the hall mirror, carefully checking her hair and make-up. This need inside of her to look her best when Spencer arrived made no sense, but she didn't try to fight it. Some things were just instinctual. The doorbell rang, announcing Penny's arrival. Taking a deep breath, Chancellor prepared herself for was going to be the most stressful night of her life. She'd almost rather give birth again than go through this.

"I come nearing alcohol." Penelope announced as soon as Chancellor opened the door. Laughing, the she took one of the paper bags the tech analyst was balancing on each hip.

"Four bottles of wine? Are we getting drink tonight?" Chance asked, peering into the bag.

"Well, there might or might not be a couple extra people coming." Garcia admitted, waving a burlap bag overflowing with groceries. "I didn't seem fair to take the team away from their families when they just got back, so-"

"So you called their families. I take it Rossi and Blake have families then?" She asked, leading Garcia back to the kitchen.

"Hmm? Oh. No. But Hotch has Jack and Beth is flying in from New York and JJ has Will and Henry of course. Then Blake's husband is coming in from Cambridge, and Savannah isn't on call tonight, so she's coming too, and I'm trying to be friends with Kevin, so he's coming."

"Whoa. Whoa. Slow down." Chance started loading the wine bottles in the fridge, along with the six-pack of beer and soda. "Who's Beth? What do you mean JJ has Will and Henry? When did she have kids? Why isn't Hailey coming?"

"I forgot you didn't know." Garcia breathed, turning on the water and scrubbing bell peppers. "A lot has happened since you left."

"Obviously. Why don't you fill me in?"

"Beth is Hotch's girlfriend. Hailey…" Penelope winced, resting her head against the faucet for a moment. "Hailey passed away. There was this killer, George Foyet, he killed her."

"Oh god." Chance crossed her arms over her stomach. Hailey had been one of the kindest women she'd ever met. There were times, especially during the initial rush of her relationship with Reid, where she'd had so much trouble with him being away so often. Hailey had been the one to coach her through it. "How long ago?"

"Four years."

Chance nodded, making a note not to bring up the unit chief's wife and try her best to pretend the presence of a girlfriend was expected. "And what's this about JJ?"

"Oh! JJ's married! She met a cop in New Orleans that she just fell head over heels for, Will, and they have a little boy, Henry, together. He's a couple years younger than your daughter, I think."

"And Jack should be about eight now, right?"

"I think so, yes."

"Ah, and Blake, why does her husband live in Cambridge? And why does Beth live in New York?"

"Her husband lives in Cambridge because he's a professor at Harvard, and Beth lives in New York because she got a job offer up there, so she and Hotch are making the long distance thing work."

"That's kind of sweet." Chancellor murmured, grabbing a knife from the drawer and setting to work on seeding and chopping the pepper. She had enough dough for three pizzas, but Garcia had helpfully grabbed two more pre-made crusts. "It's nice to know that it's not all gloom and doom."

"Not at all. And you'll love Rossi. He's kind of gruff, but he's smart, and he's a great cook. Do you still keep Scotch around?"

"In the living room on the top shelf of the bookcase. Why?"

"Rossi likes Scotch."

"And you didn't get any because I always keep some on hand." Chance finished, nodding slightly. "Good planning."

"Thank you. Thank you. I try." Penny lifted the lid off on of the crockpots, inhaling deeply. "God, I've missed your pizza sauce."

"Pour me a glass of wine and I'll let you try some before we start the assembly line." She quickly finished the bell peppers and moved onto the mushrooms. "Grab the olives and onions from the fridge while you're at it, will you?"

"Hey! There's tiramisu in here!" The tech analyst exclaimed, dragging out a bottle of red wine. "Trying to get back in Reid's good graces."

Chance blushed. It wasn't until she was half-way finished with the dessert that she even remembered that it was Spencer's favorite. By that point, it was too late to start on something new. "Actually, I don't get to make it often because I don't want Rune eating or drinking anything with a lot of caffeine. Since she's not here, I decided to indulge."

"Oh please don't tell me you're one of those organic-only, death-to-GMOs mothers."

She laughed, switching out the mushrooms for fresh tomatoes. "No. I'm not that bad. But she only gets soda when we go out to eat, and most of our 'desserts' are things like fruit salad and fresh watermelon. The only TV in the house is in the living room, and she only gets to watch it after soccer practice and when she's finished her homework. I'm trying to teach her to be healthy without being overbearing."

Penny nodded, rifling through the cabinets until she found the wine glasses. Forgoing propriety, she dropped a couple ice cubes in each glass before filling them nearly to the brim. "When did you become such a good mother?"

"I'm not a good mother." Chance took her glass, leaning back against the counter and smiling. "And it took me a long time to accept that. I don't always help her with her homework and yell far too much, and I actually spanked her a few times when she was little."

"Say it isn't so!"

"But, I do try, every day, to make sure she has everything she needs and that she's a happy, healthy, well-adjusted child." She continued, rolling her eyes at Garcia's sarcasm. "I'm not a good mother, but I am one who tries. I think that's better."

"And that, my dear, is why you're a good mother." They clinked glasses. "What about her dad though? Have you considered getting in contact with him, seeing if he's cleaned up his act?"

Chance's face fell, and she grabbed the onion Penelope sat on the counter, quickly peeling it. "Rune is seven, and she's never had a father. I think introducing one this late in the game would just throw her for a loop."

"But if he's better-"

"He's not my concern, Penny. Rune is."

Garcia sighed heavily, popping open the jar of olives and draining them. "I know, Chance."

"You know what."

"Who Rune's father is. I talked to Gideon."

Chance stilled, cautiously setting her knife down. Taking a sip of wine, she turned to face Penelope. "And?"

"And what?"

"Are you going to tell him?"

"I was going to." Penny answered honestly, running water into the jar. "But I decided to trust Gideon on this. He said this is something you and Spencer need to work out on your own, and I need to stay out of it."

"Thank you." Chance went back to the onion.

"If I could give my opinion though-"

"Like I could stop you."

"You should let him know, Chance." Penny finished, glaring slightly. "He's not the same man. He's clean, and has been for years. He deserves to know he has a daughter."

"Why?" She gave a vicious chop, splitting the onion in half. "What would it do but cause stress and confusion to everyone involved, especially Rune? Even if he is clean, Rune has never met him. I can't just thrust some stranger at her and say 'This is your daddy. You've never met him and have no idea who his or what kind of man he is, but hey! Since he provided half your genes he's entitled to be a part of your life. Enjoy!'"

"But Reid-"

"Reid is not my problem. He made his choice seven years ago when he decided that his addiction was more important than everything else." _More important than me._ "Rune is who I have to worry about. She's the one I have to think about."

"And you don't think she'll want to meet her father?"

"And what if Spencer doesn't want to meet her? Did you ever consider that? What if I let my daughter know that she now lives within driving distance of her father, but he has no interest in being a part of her life?" Chance set the knife down, hanging her head. "I can't put my daughter in that position, Penny. I can't let her be hurt like that."

Penny opened her mouth to argue, then promptly closed it. Support and prayer. She'd said her piece. Anything else she tried would only close Chance off. "Ok, little bit. Just… Reid isn't an idiot. Not by a long shot. The team isn't just going to come over tonight then ignore you. You're going to be part of our lives again. Which means Rune will be part of our lives too. Eventually, he'll figure it out."

"Then I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Until then, as far as anyone's concerned, I don't know who Rune's father is and neither do you."

Garcia sighed, rifling around for a chopping board and slicing the olives. This was going to end badly. She could feel it in her bones. No one was going to come out clean in this mess. Not Chancellor. Not Reid. Especially not that innocent little girl. All she could do was hope and pray that when Reid found out, he'd remember that there was a child involved and anger and hatred would do nothing but hurt his blameless daughter.

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	4. Chapter 4

_**tannerrose5: **__**She'll tell him, or he'll figure it out. One way or another, he'll end up knowing he's a father. I wasn't a huge fan of Gideon either, but I didn't want Chancellor to be someone he worked with or met on a case. A family connection seemed the best way to integrate her. I don't think Garcia is capable of staying out of it completely, but I think she's clever enough to reveal the secret without flat out telling Reid. The fact that he's not the man he was seven years ago is going to be something he has to prove to Chancellor. I don't know if you have children, but if you do, then you'll understand. It's difficult to let anyone, even the father, around your child if you know they've had a drug problem. Allowing someone around you child requires a huge amount of trust, and, when you know they have a history of addiction, it's almost impossible to place that kind of trust in them. He's going to have to work hard to show her that he's kicked his habit and is ready and willing to take on all the responsibility being a parent involves.**_

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Nervous, twisting the straps of his messenger bag between his fingers, Spencer pushed the doorbell.

He was early. Why was he early? He shouldn't be early. There would be plenty of time to talk to Chancellor. She was always great at carving out individual time for each person, even in the midst of a crowd. It was one of the things that initially drew him to her. No matter how many people were in the room or at the table, she made sure give him her full attention and listen to any subject he chose to ramble about. He never had to worry about boring her because, while she was considered a genius, she caught on quickly and made an effort to learn and understand.

After being cut off so many times, or talking to people unable to thread together his sometimes erratic lectures, it was addicting to be around someone like her. Then he'd gotten the flu, and, for the first time in his life, he was someone's world.

He knew she did it for anyone in her life that was sick. Derek often teased her about the time he came into his living room after a particularly bad bout of stomach flu to find her sound asleep, half-off the couch, hair going in every direction, and drooling. For someone who'd spent most of his life taking care of his mother more than she'd ever taken care of him, though, to have someone fuss ad fret over him, feeding him medicine and chicken broth, and stroking his hair while she read him to sleep, was like a gift from god.

When the morning came after his fever finally broke, and he woke up to her head on his chest and her arms wrapped around him so tightly that it was like she thought he'd disappear if she didn't hold him as close to her as possible, he realized he needed her in his life. He needed someone who gave damn. He needed someone who threw boundaries out the window and came charging in, ignoring all the protests. He needed someone who made him feel important.

So he asked her out on a date. It was the scariest night of his life and it ended up a complete disaster. The restaurant was stuffy and uncomfortable for them both. The movie bored them to tears. Finally, laughing, Chancellor had taken his hand and led him to a little hole-in-the-wall coffee shop near her dorm room. He'd never forget what she told him. "Spencer Reid. You are the most intelligent, handsome, socially awkward man I've ever met, and it's adorable, but tonight sucked. Let's try this again."

Then they talked. That's it. Four hours they sat there, and all they did was talk. Everything from pop culture to his philosophy courses to her political science class was covered. After it was all said and done, she paid the bill, walked him to the Metro stop, kissed his cheek, and told him to call her tomorrow. A week later, they spent the weekend walking the city, stopping in every museum and tourist trap they ran across. He still remembered the way his pulse sped up when he realized that, every time he started spouting off random facts and tidbits about whatever exhibit they were walking through, her grey eyes were trained on him, soaking in every word he said. A month later they were in his bed. Six months after that was the first time she walked in on him using. Nine months after that first, horrible, date, she walked away.

He hadn't cared at the time. He wasn't capable of caring. The only thing on his mind was getting to his next fix. It wasn't until he was three months sober that he truly realized what he'd lost. He found a bottle of her scented lotion under his sink, and he nearly toppled into a relapse. It finally hit him that the first person in his life to make him her first priority was gone, and he had no one to blame but himself.

Now she was back, barely twenty miles from his own home, and he didn't know what he was going to do. She wasn't going to be the same person. He knew that. It had been seven years. She wasn't the college student with stars in her eyes and dreams of changing the world anymore. She was a mother and skilled member of an up-and-coming congressman's staff. She'd probably changed into someone he wouldn't even recognize.

Chance pulled open the door, and he realized how wrong he was. Her hair was shorter, but it was the still the same shade as a new penny, sparkling in the last rays of sunlight. Those grey eyes that always seemed to see into his soul were accentuated with make-up, but it only made them gleam brighter than ever. She'd swapped that shabby, ragged style he'd grown unaccustomed to for a more mature, fashion conscious one, but the belted mini-dress and skinny jeans gave her the appearance of curves and highlighted her slender frame. She was different, but she was beautiful.

"Spencer." She breathed, and the sound of husky voice, so at different than what someone expected from someone her size, took him back. She's said his name so many times. In exasperation and humor and ecstasy and love, she sighed his name, the single word conveying everything he needed to know. Now it was said in shock, and with a tiny bit of fear.

"Chancellor."

She shook her head, stepping aside. "Sorry. Sorry. Come in. It's good to see you again."

"Thanks." He murmured, stepping into the entrance way. "You too."

"You're early."

"I hate being late."

"I remember." She winced, turning her head. "Sorry. Come on back. Penelope and I are in the kitchen. We're getting ready to stick the first pizza in the oven."

He nodded, not really paying attention. Instead, he scanned the walls. He could see the hooks and screws where pictures should be hanging, but the photos themselves were missing. Why had she taken them down? From the way Morgan acted, he knew she didn't want people knowing about her daughter, but surely she wouldn't go so far as to hide all evidence of being a parent.

Well, not all evidence. He walked over to the fridge, leaning down to inspect the child's painting pinned to the door. It was simple. Just a giant heart surrounded by flowers and "I love you, Mommy" painted in large, uneven letters in the center of the heart, but it was in a place of pride. No one could miss it, and, more importantly, Chance would see it every time she entered her kitchen. "Your daughter did this."

Chance glanced over, nodding quickly. "Just before she left for camp. She normally doesn't like to paint. She prefers building things, but she said that a picture would take up less space than a model and she didn't want to leave her toys lying around for a month."

"How was your trip home?" Garcia interrupted, sprinkling extra mozzarella over the pizza. "Smooth flying?"

"The smoothest."

"Here, let me get you a drink." Chance dusted off cornmeal off her hands, walking over to the cabinet and grabbing a glass. "Penny brought soda, or I can make you some coffee. We have wine and beer too. Or there's some Scotch in the living room."

"Soda is fine."

"Oh geez." Penny slid the pizza in the oven. "I forgot that Beth prefers white wine. I need to run out and grab some."

"I can get it." Chance piped up. She didn't want to be left alone with Spencer. Having him at her house when there was a crowd of people around was one thing. Having him here while it was just the two of them was quite another. The last thing she wanted to do was spend the next twenty minutes making awkward small talk with her ex-boyfriend.

Garcia waved the suggestion away. "No. The deal was that you'd provide the pizza and I'd provide the booze. I won't be long."

"But you brought pizza ingredients." Chance tried, desperate to keep Garcia here.

"Because I invited extra people without telling you. I'll only be a few minutes. Spencer, will you help her finish putting the pizzas together?"

"I could go get the wine." Spencer volunteered.

"You'll get stuck in line arguing that your not using a fake I.D." Penny teased, grabbing her purse. "Fifteen minutes. Twenty, max. Just make sure the pizzas are ready."

Helpless, Chance watched the tech analyst sail out the door. Spencer moved up behind her, setting his messenger bag on the counter. "You don't want to be alone with me."

It wasn't a question, but she answered any way. "No."

"I'm not using anymore."

"I know."

"But you're still afraid."

Sighing, she turned to face him, wrapping her arms around her waist. "I was never afraid of you, Spence. Not even during the worst of it."

"Then why don't you want to be alone with me?"

"Because of this." She gestured between them. "This awkward, uncomfortable, stilted conversation where we dance around the past and try to pretend that we both don't remember."

"I never said I wanted to pretend I don't remember." Spencer whispered. "Sometimes memories, no matter how terrible, are all we have."

"Why do I get the feeling we're not talking about us anymore?"

He flushed. It was probably considered rude to be thinking about your deceased girlfriend while talking to an ex. "I wasn't."

"Penny mentioned something about your last girlfriend." Chance straightened up. This she could handle. Talking to others, hearing their stories and helping them through their trials is what she did for a living. Her boss made a platform of being a people's politician, taking interest in any issue put before him by the average Joe and crafting a solution. Of course, he only read one out of every twenty letters he received. The rest were handled by Chancellor and her partner, Bryan. She spent her days reading and replying to e-mails, then drawing up action plans to pass along to her boss. "It ended badly."

"She died." Spence pulled a ball of dough toward him, pounding it into a manageable semi-circle. One of the first things Chancellor taught him was how to make a homemade pizza, even showing him how to properly throw the dough. "She had a stalker and… I couldn't save her."

"Spence…" Chance reached her hand out, intending to place it on his shoulder, before stopping herself.

He caught the motion and stopped her, pulling her forward. "You can still touch me, Chance. You're one of the few people who can. That hasn't changed."

Smiling sadly, she tapped his shoulder. "Yes it has. I hate to say it, but it has."

"Why?"

"Because we're not who we were back then." She pulled her hand away. "Tell me about her. About your girlfriend."

He watched her, still trying to figure her out. He'd spent years trying to figure her out. To this day, he didn't know what made her tick. She was the baby of her family. She'd spent her life being taken care of, first by her brother, then by her uncle. She should be person who, at best, was well-balanced between focusing on herself on herself and focusing on other. Instead, he'd seen her focus on others full-time, to the extent of hurting herself at times. Like now, for instance. "I don't think that's a good idea, Chance."

"I got over us a long time ago, Spencer." Chance replied calmly, spreading a thick layer of sauce on one of the pre-made pizza crusts Garcia brought. "And I know you. You've probably talked about her, really talked about her, what, twice, maybe three times since she passed? Take it from someone who knows, talking about her will help. It reminds you that a loved one was more than just their death."

"But you're-"

"Do you remember the promise we made each other when we first started dating?" She asked abruptly, sprinkling cheese over the sauce. "We'd been dating for about two months, and you made me sit down and talk to you about what exactly it was that we had. I'd just taken it for granted that you were my boyfriend, but you needed to hear the words."

"I don't exactly date much, Chance, then or now. It helped to have it spelled out." He replied, smiling.

She nodded. "I don't either. But I was still naïve enough to believe it was obvious. Still we talked about it, and we promised each other that, even if we broke up, we'd stay friends. That way, if we needed someone to go to, and we didn't feel safe with anyone else, we'd always have each other."

"Except we broke up and you moved to Mississippi, so that deal was already broken."

"The man I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with told me that, if it came down to me or Dilaudid, he wanted the Dilaudid. Excuse me if I needed a bit of time to recover from that."

"You thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with me?" Spencer was shocked. They'd never talked about the future, not really. Their whole system had been to remain exclusive and see where it went.

Chance sighed, taking the dough from him and spinning it in the air. "Yeah, I did. You were this insanely gorgeous, incredibly caring, amazingly handsome man who happened to be great in bed, and, for some reason, you were with me. I was half in love with you before you ever asked me out, and, after we were actually together, I couldn't imagine being with anyone else. Even at your worst, when you were high more often than not and snapping at me every moment you weren't, you'd come to bed at night and wrap your arms around me and it would remind me why I loved you. I thought that we'd eventually get passed the addiction and, after a few years, move in together, then get married, and end up with 2.5 kids and a white picket fence."

"And, instead, you gave up on me." He stated flatly.

"I was breaking, Spencer. I was trying to balance a course load that even you called insane, an uncle that was burning out before my eyes, a brother in the midst of a divorce, and a boyfriend who had a needle in his arm more often than not. When the stress started affecting my health, something had to give."

"And I was what gave."

"All of it gave." She corrected. "I left you, graduated, helped my brother get set up in Biloxi, told Uncle Jason to come live with me, and turned into a recluse. Aside from work, every free moment I had was spent at home. It took years for me to start going out in the world again."

"You went out long enough to have a child."

"Yeah, well, things happen." Chance hedged. "Rune was a surprise."

"Were you happy about her?" He asked, doing his own bit of evading. He didn't want to talk about Maeve. He did want to know if there was a chance, even a tiny, little, slim possibility, that he was a father. "Your daughter, Rune. Only 23% of single parents surveyed describe themselves as pleased with their impending pregnancy."

"I wasn't happy, but I wasn't upset either." Chance murmured, ladling pizza sauce over the newly formed crust. "I was afraid, more than anything. I didn't know if I'd be able to do it. Be a single parent. I was still basically a kid. I wasn't sure if I could raise one."

"Did you consider terminating the pregnancy?"

She paused, thinking back to that time. She'd considered a lot of things. Closed adoption. Open adoption. Saying fuck it and moving back to D.C. with the hopes that the news of his impending fatherhood would jolt Spencer into getting clean. Never abortion though. It just wasn't something that ever crossed her mind. One more shred of evidence of how naïve she'd been. "No, actually. I was afraid, but from the moment I saw those two pink lines, I knew I was going to keep the baby."

"What did her father think of that?"

Chance shrugged. "I don't know. I never discussed it with him."

"So you know who he is?"

"I have a decent idea, but he wasn't the sort of man I wanted around my child." She pulled the bowl of olives over to her. "Why the interest in my kid?"

Spencer noticed the flush of red at the tips of her ears. She was lying. He could work with that. Chance was a terrible liar. "We're supposed to be getting reacquainted, right? One of the significant changes to your life is your daughter."

"It's also a good excuse for you to avoid talking about your previous girlfriend." She pointed out. He winced. He'd forgotten that she knew him just as well as he knew her. "It looks like we both have subjects that are taboo."

"I watched Maeve get shot in front of me. It's understandable that I'd feel uncomfortable talking about her. Why don't you want to talk about your daughter? And why did you take down your photos? The hooks are there, but the pictures are gone. What are you hiding?"

"Perhaps, Spencer, I've learned, as a parent, that divulging too much information about your child can be dangerous. Perhaps I don't want a bunch of people I haven't seen in nearly a decade gaping at my little girl." She slammed the bowl of onions down next to her. "Perhaps it's none of your business."

"When is her birthday?" He asked abruptly, ignoring her rant. Her ears had turned completely red. She was hiding something. The last time her ears had been that red was when she was trying to keep him from finding out that she was sick.

Chance stilled briefly, quickly covering it by piling onions on a pizza. "Excuse me?"

"Your daughter. When is her birthday. What day was she born?"

"Saturday."

"Ha ha. I'm dying inside, truly."

"Yay. I can still bring out your sarcasm."

He sighed, rubbing his hand over the bridge of his nose. "What happened to you, Chance? You never used to keep secrets."

"I grew up, Spence." She pushed a ball of dough toward him. "Help me make the pizzas. Penny will be back soon."

In other words, the conversation was over. Every instinct in him screamed for him to push it, to find out what he needed to know. Instead, he picked up the dough and started in on another crust.

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	5. Chapter 5

_**ripon:**__** Thank you so much! Chancellor was actually chosen as an afterthought specifically for the play on the names. (Rune= secret, Chancellor= keeper of secrets) Originally, Chancellor's name was going to be Sonya. As for the name Rune, it was a name I'd considered for my own daughter. Unfortunately, my husband wanted something different, and when we pulled a name out of a hat to decide (yes, that's actually how we chose our child's name), I lost. Like I said in the original author's note, I'm not sure if Chance and Spence will end up together. No matter if they do or not, happy endings come in many forms. They may not be together, but, as someone who's witnessed many nasty divorces (my mother has been married five times and my grandfather finally came out of the closet and, after four failed marriages, has finally settled down with my godfather), the simple act of being able to maintain a friendly relationship while raising a child together is a happy ending in itself. Thank you again for the comment on their backstory. It took a lot of rewrites to get to that point. I wanted to Chance to be an average, everyday girl who caught Spencer's attention simply by being herself, not because she had some great intelligence or because she needed to be rescued. And, since I usually write an OC into all my stories, I wanted to make sure she wasn't a Mary Sue. That's been a fear of mine, and probably ever other author who uses OCs, since I started sharing my stories. I hope this next chapter doesn't disappoint, and thank you again. I can't say that enough.**_

* * *

Spencer pulled open the door, stuck on greeting duty after he tried to put pepperoni on one of the vegetarian pizzas... twice. The team had slowly filtered in over the course of the night. Derek and Savannah arrived first, followed quickly by Rossi, who had given Kevin a lift. JJ, Will, and Henry pulled in next, with Hotch, Beth, and Jack swift on their heels. Blake and her husband were the last to get there. Spencer wondered how they were all going to fit. Chance's house wasn't exactly large.

Trailing along after Blake, he saw how. At some point Chance had propped open the back door and everyone was congregated around the two picnic benches she'd pushed together. Half the pizzas they'd made were lined up along the center, and Garcia was busy setting out paper plates while Henry and Jack pushed each other on the swing and Chance moved through the team, happily chatting with everyone in attendance.

He realized he'd missed this. Watching her work a room had always been a favorite pass time of his. She seemed to have this innate ability to make anyone she came in contact with feel as if they'd known her for years. Even Blake, someone so notoriously private that they hadn't even known she was married until her husband returned from Doctors without Borders, was quickly sucked in, openly chatting about her work as a linguist.

"We're set up!" Garcia yelled, grabbing everyone's attention. True to form, the team dove in with gusto. Chance was counting glasses, walking backwards as she moved toward the door. As spark of mischief made him act impulsively, and he moved into her path, waiting for her to run into him.

"Oh!" Chance jumped around, blushing to the roots of her hair. "Sorry. I was trying to see who needed refills and-"

"Let me help you get the drinks." He interrupted, walking her back to the house. Spencer loved his team, but he was in no hurry to crowd onto a bench with them.

Chance picked up her pace, hurrying into the house and forcing him to jog to keep up. By the time he hit the kitchen door, she was already digging around in the fridge, pulling out milk for the kids, the wine and beer for the adults, and a soda for him. "Would you grab the scotch?" She asked, throwing the question over her shoulder as she awkwardly tried to balance all the drinks. "It's in the living room. It was on top of the bookshelf, but I think Penny might have left it down for easier access."

He nodded, grabbing the decanter and hurrying back to the kitchen. She was using some of her previous experience in waitressing. Somehow, she'd manage to comfortably seat two bottles of wine, two beers, and two glasses of milk in her arms. The only thing left on the counter was Spencer's soda. "You realize I'm capable of carrying more than two things at once, correct?"

"I'm having horrifying flashbacks of our first Christmas together and the turkey skidding across the linoleum. You were only carrying one thing then."

"It was a heavy turkey!"

"It was still in the roasting pan! All you had to do was keep it level and walk it the two feet from the oven to the counter!"

"Your brother never let me live that down." He pointed out, laughing as he grabbed the soda and followed her out the door.

"Cory has a long memory for those sorts of things." She replied, smiling. "He still teases me about the rubber cookies I made in third grade."

"What's this about cookies?" Hotch poked his head up. Chance shook her head, passing the red wine to Penny and giving Henry and Jack their milk along with a kiss on top of the head. It was obviously a reflex action, something she probably did with her own daughter, because she sent an apologetic glance toward their parents as soon as it happened.

"Not actual, cookies, Hotch." Chance explained, passing out the beers and refilling Beth's wine glass before taking a seat between Rossi and Kevin and leaving the open space at the end for Spencer. "In the third grade, I tried making oatmeal raisin cookies for my brother and they came out as rubber cookies instead."

"How'd you manage that?" Kevin asked around a mouthful of pizza. Garcia playfully smacked his arm. Guiltily, he swallowed before continuing. "It's kind of hard to mess up cookies."

"It's not when you're eight years-old and trying to make them from scratch without a recipe." Chancellor leaned over, grabbing the pan with the plain pepperoni pizza and passing it down to Spencer before taking a couple slices of supreme for herself.

"Why were you trying to do that?"

"My brother had a bit of a drinking problem." Chance admitted, trying not to flinch and let them know that it had been a lot worse than "a bit." Actually, the catalyst for him quitting was that she'd nearly been sent into the foster system. "He was in AA and going on six months sober and, when he first quit, I started this silly tradition that, every month, I'd make him a dessert on the anniversary of when he took his last drink. Well, things were a little tight that month, and we couldn't afford to get the box mix like we normally did, but I didn't want Cory to go without his dessert, so I tried to make him cookies from scratch.

"It was terrible. I had no idea what I was doing. I used instant oatmeal, sugar, flour, water, and raisins. No baking powder. No milk. No butter. The end result were these opaque, stretchy globs that you could, literally, stretch about two feet, let go, and they'd snap back into shape."

"No."

Chance nodded, laughing despite her blush. "Yeah. I should have written down exactly what I did. Remove the raisins and I could have sold them as non-toxic, organic, kid's toys. Forget the super ball, get the stretchy cookie!"

"Thank god your cooking has gotten better." Rossi held up his slice of pizza. "This is delicious, by the way. Think I can get the recipe."

"Remind me before you leave and I'll write it down for you."

"May I have more pizza, Ms. Chancellor?" Jack asked, holding out his plate.

Chance blinked at him, shaking her head to rid herself of the uncanny image she just had of Oliver Twist. "Sure, munchkin. Just make sure it's ok with your dad."

"Only one more slice, Jack." Hotch said sternly. "You want to make sure you save room for dessert."

"Please tell me it's not stretchy cookies." Will joked, taking a swig of beer.

Chance laughed, immune to the ribbing. Twenty-one years of listening to her brother go on about it made her immune. "Tiramisu for the adults, and I have ice cream for the kids."

"Pizza, ice cream, and you have a jungle gym. Henry's never going to want to leave." JJ took a napkin wiping at some sauce on her son's cheek. "At least he'll have a play mate."

"Where is your daughter? Still at camp?" Derek asked, pulling another slice of pizza out for Savannah.

Chance looked down at her plate, taking a deep breath. The subject had to come up eventually, though she had a sneaking suspicion Derek was angling for something. He knew darn good and well Rune was still at camp. It was the whole reason she'd felt comfortable enough to invite the team over. "Still at camp. She'll be back in about a month."

"I just can't believe you're a mother." Hotch ruffled Jack's hair as the boy chugged his milk. "I still remember when you weren't old enough to drink."

"Now I consider it a compliment when I get carded." She quickly took a bite of her pizza, hoping that someone would change the topic while she chewed. No such luck.

"Where's your phone?" Garcia asked, reaching around Kevin to poke at Chance's pockets. "You've got to show her off. She is absolutely adorable."

"It's in the house. I'll get it later." She slapped at the tech analysts hands. Hopefully the delay would give them just enough time to forget about it.

Fate was apparently working against her. Penny jumped from the table, declaring she'd go it. In a matter of minutes, she was back. "What's your passcode? They've got to see that one of the two of you at the beach."

Sighing with resignation, she held her hand out for the device. She wasn't going to be able to get out of showing photos of her daughter, but she sure as hell wasn't going to say her passcode out loud. Rune's birthday was the combination, and the last thing she needed was to give them all one more piece of the puzzle. With Spencer's suspicions already obvious, it would be the equivalent of handing him the final nail to seal her coffin shut. Quickly, she punched in the four digit code and opened her photos.

"Are you sure they didn't give you the wrong kid at the hospital?" Kevin joked, passing the phone over her to Rossi. "She looks nothing like you."

"I wouldn't say that." Dave argued, passing the phone along. "She's tiny."

"Actually, she looks a bit like Dr. Reid." Savannah stated innocently. A hush fell along the table. Savannah looked around, oblivious to the problem. "Did I say something wrong?"

Chance shook her head no. Sucking in a deep breath, she prepared to lie through her teeth. "Sorry. No. You didn't say anything wrong. Spencer and I dated for a bit just before I graduated college, and, with the timing…"

"Oh. Oh!" Savannah flinched. "I didn't know. I'm so sorry."

"There's no reason to be sorry." Chance quickly assured the mortified surgeon. "I had a type. Blond, slender, hazel eyes, I was there. It's just a coincidence."

Most of the table heaved out the breath they'd been holding, relieved. Penny, meanwhile, gave her a disgusted glare while Spencer seemed to be focusing on her ears. Experimentally, she reached up to feel the tips. Sure enough, they were burning. Fuck. She could hear the nail hammering into place. "If you'll all excuse me for a moment, we're running out of pizza. I'll go get the rest."

Spencer watched her go, blindly taking the phone. She was lying. She was lying and she'd been lying for years. He had a daughter. He had no physical proof, but he knew it. Studying the photo on the small screen, he could see it in the high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes of the… of _his_ little girl. Looking up, he locked eyes with Penelope and saw the confirmation in the way the tech analyst sunk down, almost relieved. He turned his gaze back to the photo, reluctantly passing it to JJ. He had a daughter. He had a beautiful, intelligent daughter that had been kept from him for her entire life. Now he just needed the proof, and as soon as he had it, there would be hell to pay.

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_**Please read and review.**_


	6. Chapter 6

He managed to wait until Monday. Chance had been very careful the rest of the night. She never gave him an opportunity to get her alone and even went as far as to bat her eyelashes at Rossi and ask him to stay and help her clean up in exchange for the recipe to her pizza sauce.

Sunday revolved around a terrifying merry-go-round and wanting to go confront her and reminding himself that, when he faced her, he needed hard evidence that she couldn't wiggle around with half-truths or flat lies. He'd stopped himself half a dozen times from calling Garcia that night to get everything she could find one Rune Becker, thought that would be changed to Reid soon enough, if he had his way.

Today, however, he was getting his evidence and he and Chancellor were going to have a nice, long talk about his future relationship with his child. Namely, that there would be one. Softly, he knocked on Garcia's door.

"Who requests entrance to my fortress of solitude?"

"It's Spencer."

"Enter, boy genius! I have a present for you."

Spencer poked his head in, glancing over to the illuminated map near the door. Seven red markers dotted it, but nothing pressing enough to call them away from Quantico. "I need to ask for a favor."

"I thought you might." Garcia handed him a paper file, the first she'd allowed him since the FBI mandated digital files. He nearly laughed at the neon green folder dotted with bright blue daisies. "That, my darling super brain, is everything I could find on one Ms. Rune Becker. From her birth certificate to her medical records and school transcripts. Do you know she was recently approved to skip the first grade? It appears that apple hasn't fallen far from the tree."

"You knew." He said, more resigned than irritated.

"Chance is a terrible liar, and there were too many coincidences to ignore."

"How long?"

"Does it matter?" She stood, pushing her chair toward him. "I'm going to go grab some lunch. Coincidently, our lovely Derek is having lunch with Chance. Why don't you read up in Rune. Just don't mess with the height adjustment on my chair."

He chuckled, already flipping open the file. Rune's birthday was February 22nd. That meant Chance conceived sometime in late April. Her morning sickness hit a bit early then. Garcia smiled fondly slipping out of the office. Spencer distantly heard the door close as he started scanning through his daughter's medical records.

* * *

Chance took her salad ,giving the server a kind smile. The harried woman was having a tough time with a nearby table. She made a mental note to leave a generous tip.

Derek took his sandwich with a barely a glance, still regaling Chance with stories of his latest house flipping nightmare. She gave a forced laugh as he told of half a roof caving in around him when he accidentally took out a support beam. "I'm sorry. Am I boring you?"

"As if you could ever be boring." She smiled wryly, pulling the tomato and onion slices off to the side to cut into more manageable pieces. "I'm just wondering when you're going to stop beating around the bush and get to why you really invited me out for lunch today. I know it wasn't to tell me about your properties."

"Hey! Who's the profiler here?"

"Not a profiler, just perceptive." She sat her knife and fork down, steepling her fingers under her chin. "What's going on, Derek? Are you OK?"

"I'm fine, but I'm worried you won't be."

"What sort of danger could I be in?"

"A scorned father with and IQ in the stratosphere."

Her heart stopped in her chest. She knew this was coming. She'd been trying to prepare herself for it since the Saturday night. Some small, traitorous part of herself wondered if she wanted this to happen. She could have easily refused to meet with Penny and Derek in the first place. She could have waited to order Rune's plushie until after she left the coffee shop. She could have refused to have the team over or claimed her phone was dead, not just in the house. Instead, every choice she'd made since stepping into the damn coffee shop led her right here. Maybe it was fate, or maybe, in her subconscious, she wanted Spencer to know. Maybe the deep, dark part of herself she hated to admit existed wanted her daughter to have a father and wanted Spencer to have a second chance. Either way, the moment had come. "He knows then."

"How long did you really think it would take for him to figure it out?"

She gave a shaky laugh, using it to fight back tears. Everything was crumbling. Spencer knew, and Spencer could be downright vindictive when the mood struck him. How could she ever make this right? How could she explain this to him, or to Rune, that would make them realize that she was trying to do what she thought was right? What leg would she have to stand on if he tried to take her daughter? His addiction wasn't a documented fact. How could she ever explain to a court why she'd kept the child's father out of the loop for so long? "Longer than this. I'd hoped at least. I wanted to retain a lawyer and have a chance to breach the subject with Rune first."

Derek reached over, covering her trembling hands. "You're not going to need a lawyer, little bit. He's pissed, yeah, but he won't try to take her from you."

"It's not just about him trying to gain custody. It's about visitation rights and finding a way to exempt him from back child support and all the other legal obstacles that come with having a child with someone you're not in a relationship with." To her horror, she felt a tear roll down her cheek. "I never should have come back, Derek. I should have stayed in Mississippi."

"Hey now." He moved from his side of the booth, crowding in beside her. "Enough of that. No tears, OK?" He lifted her up, swiping at the drops of liquid on her cheeks. "This is actually a good thing. You'll see. You and Reid will get past this and it will all work out for the better. You don't have to go it alone anymore."

She chuckled, resting her head on his shoulder. She'd missed this. She'd missed having close friends that she could lean on in times of stress. She'd felt so alienated when she left, cut off from everyone and everything that she'd grown to love. When she'd told Reid she'd became a recluse, she wasn't lying. She went to work, she came home, she made a few acquaintances in her Mommy and Me class and, later, with other mothers on her daughter's soccer team, but nothing outside of activities that involved her daughter. It was nice to remember that, while she was a mother first and foremost, there were other parts to her life. "I kind of liked going it alone, actually. There's a sort of freedom in being able to make decisions without having to run them by another person first."

Derek shook his head, pressing a kiss into her hair. "Yeah. Yeah. That's just your stubborn streak coming out. Here, eat." He pushed her salad toward her. "Nibble on your rabbit food."

"Do you know when…"

"When he's going to talk to you about it? Soon, I imagine. Baby girl had a file made-up on your daughter this morning."

Chance felt a tiny stab of betrayal, but pushed it aside. She couldn't judge Penny for doing what she thought was right. It was the same thing Chance had done, and would do again. "Do you think you could, you know, be there when he comes?"

Derek shook his head, tucking her more firmly against his chest. "I want to be, but you have to face this on your own." He winced even as he said the words. Spencer had been snapping at everyone all day. He could only imagine what he'd do to Chance. "You'll be OK, little bit. I promise you that. You'll be OK."

* * *

Morgan paced the halls, hoping to catch Spencer before he headed toward Chance. He couldn't be there to mediate the meeting, but he could damn sure try to talk some sense into Reid before he left. If the genius went in there half-cocked, full of fire and fury, it would only make things worse on him and Chance both. That's not even starting on what would happen to their little girl. He caught sight of his coworker at the elevators. "Hey! Pretty Boy! Hold the doors! I need to talk to you."

"I actually have someplace I need to be."

"I know." Morgan pushed the button for the doors to close. "Chance's. Though she won't be home for another hour. That's what I need to talk to you about."

Spencer groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "No offense, Morgan, but this really isn't any of your business."

"See, that's where you're wrong." Derek slammed the emergency stop, bringing to elevator to a jarring halt. "Chance is my business. And I get it, you're pissed, but try to remember how you were when she found out she was pregnant. Can you blame her for not telling you?"

"I had a right to know!"

"And she had a right to protect her child." Derek looked at his young colleague with pity. "You chose the drugs over her, man. How could she have had any faith you wouldn't have done the same thing with your kid?"

"And what's her excuse for since I got back?" Reid asking, tapping his foot impatiently.

"She's seen you once. Once. She's had nothing but hearsay that you're clean. Reverse the situation. If you were the one who's been raising a kid alone for six years and she was the one who had the addiction, would you come out and announce that she was a parent first thing?"

"Considering that it is physically impossible for me to be a parent without the mother being aware-"

"Don't give me that shit, Spencer! You know what I mean!" Derek paused, drawing in a deep breath. "Just… go easy on her, alright? She shouldn't have kept it from you, and no one is arguing that point, but she was trying to do what was best for her kid."

"Are you done?" Sighing, Morgan nodded, leaning against the far wall of the elevator. Spencer hit the switch to get the elevator moving again. "Good. I have to go talk to my daughter's mother."

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_**Please read and review.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**tannerrose5: Calm is relative, don't you think? Would you take slightly less homicidal? I absolutely agree that he should be part of his daughter's life. I also am trying to write this from the perspective of a mother who's torn between doing what's right for her kid and the memories of how her daughter's father used to be, so it'll be a slow going. Little is stronger on this earth than a mother's instinct to protect.**_

_**ripon: Garcia and Morgan are in the hardest positions of all. They don't get the comfort of being directly in the fray or standing on the outside looking in. Instead, they're glued to the doorway, desperately wanting to dive in and save Chancellor and Spence from themselves, while simultaneously realizing that there's little they can do but bandage the wounds after it's all said and done. I'm sorry about the grammar. I try to proofread before I post, but I miss things more often than not. I'm too excited to post and don't give myself enough time between reads to catch all the mistakes. Don't ever thank me for replying. I enjoy talking to my readers, and reviews are like candy to me. Having someone show an interest in little things like the names or the backstory kind of validates the time I spend agonizing over getting it just right. Thank you again, and I hope you continue to enjoy.**_

* * *

Chance nearly kept driving when she caught sight of Spencer on her stoop. Her day had gone from bad to worse after lunch. Bryan called in sick, leaving her to handle the raging influx of e-mails, mostly complaints about her bosses support for the ACA, and her boss, in his endearingly bumbling fashion, had adeptly guilted her into agreeing to be his escort to some fundraiser Friday night. It was times like this that she wished he'd hurry and come out. She was tired of acting as his beard.

Resigning herself to her fate, she pulled into the drive, forgoing the garage for now. It would be easy, so easy, to simply open the door and head inside, leaving Spencer on her front porch and ignoring his knocks. She couldn't do that to him, though. The time had come for her to face the consequences of her choices. She had no one to blame but herself for this, and she had to behave like the grown up she was instead of the frightened child she felt like.

She checked her phone, searching for a way to delay the inevitable, even for a few moments. When that was finished, she sucked in a deep breath and pushed open her door, trying not to let him see her shake as locked the car and headed for the front door. "Can I still call you Spence, or is Dr. Reid more appropriate right now?"

Silently, he held up a neon green folder. She didn't have to ask what was in it. Spencer stood, tucking the file back into his messenger bag. "February 22, 2007. One Ms. Chance Becker gave birth to a healthy 7 lb. 9 oz., baby girl. Were you with someone else while we were together?"

Chance gave him a disgusted glare, sticking her key in the lock. "You know better than that."

"Honestly, I'm not sure what I know. Last week I would have said you'd never keep something like this from me."

"Can we have this conversation inside, please? My neighbors don't need to know my personal life."

Spencer crossed his arms over his chest. "Yes, well, what you consider personal seems to affect a lot more people than what you let on."

"Somehow I don't think this affects the retired Marine and his wife that live next door." She pushed open the doors, kicking her heels off in the entrance hall and moving to the kitchen to grab a glass. Two fingers of bourbon sounded really good right now, but she wasn't about to fall into the trap of turning to alcohol every time life got a bit stressful. Instead, she grabbed a couple of the leftover sodas from the fridge, popping the taps and pouring them both a drink.

Spencer left his on the counter. "It does affect me, though. I have a daughter."

"I have a daughter. You just happened to provide half her genes."

"I'm not some random donor at a sperm bank, Chancellor. I did a bit more than give her a second X chromosome."

"Strictly speaking, the number of people born with an XY chromosome but female genitalia, and vice versa, is a higher percentage than we ever imagined. Roughly 15% of the population, I believe."

"Stop it!" He slammed his bag on the counter. "I invented that trick. We have a child together. Rune is my daughter. I am her father. Why didn't you tell me?"

"What was I supposed to say?" She threw her hands in the air. "Oh, hi, I know you're hovering somewhere between earth and the moon right now, but I ought to let you know that I'm pregnant. Hope you're sober on delivery day!"

"Of course I would have been sober! This is my child we're talking about! If you had told me, I would have quit that moment! You didn't have faith in me!"

"Why should I have had faith in you?" Chancellor yelled. "What possible reason did you give me to believe in you? Two months, Spencer. I spent two months fighting with you, for you, trying to make you see what you were doing to yourself, and you didn't want to hear it. You wanted to get high."

"And you wanted some idealistic boyfriend instead of what you had."

She sucked in a sharp breath. That was below the belt. "I wanted you. I wanted the fun, shy, awkward man that was willing to put himself out of his comfort zone to give me the perfect first date. I wanted the caring, beautiful genius that snuck into my dorm with chocolate and flowers because I was have a particularly bad bout of PMS. I wanted the man I fell in love with, not the addict you turned into."

"If you'd loved me, you would have stuck it out."

"And if you'd loved me, I wouldn't have been put in the position of having to choose between the man who had my heart and the safety of my unborn child."

He huffed out a growl, taking deep, calming breaths. Yelling wasn't going to solve anything. Chancellor was a master at winning shouting matches. She'd use sarcasm and basic logic to twist him up until he'd forget what they were originally arguing about. She'd done it before. The only way to come out on top was calm, reasoned debate. "You were worried about my addiction."

"Yes."

"And, instead of pursuing legal channels that would have stripped me of my rights or forced me into a rehabilitation program before allowing me visitation, you ran."

"I was twenty-two and scared out of my wits, Spencer." Chance leaned on her elbows, trying to explain this in a way he'd understand. "I know what it is to live with an addict, Spencer. My brother was a functioning drunk from the time he turned eighteen to the day CPS told him he either sobered up or they'd place me in the foster system. I know what it is to see the person who's supposed to love you and take care of you so intoxicated that they can't go to the bathroom by themselves. I know what it is to see the person who's responsible for your care and well-being choose their addiction over basic human needs like food. I remember days where my only meals were school lunches and peanut butter sandwiches and, even back then, I swore any children I might have would never know that feeling.

"So, when I turned up pregnant, I wasn't thinking about legal channels or forced rehabilitation. I was thinking I'd just had the man I love tell me he wanted Dilaudid more than anything, even me, and I was not going to let my child experience that. I ran, and I hid, and I'd do it again, because I don't care how much you hate it, you were not fit to be a father back then, and I'm not sure you are now."

"I'm clean." He winced, turning his head away. No matter how many years he went without the drug, he'd never live down the shame of those months. Resolutely, he pulled up his shirt sleeves, showing her his forearms and the faded track marks that dotted the skin. "I haven't used since four months after you left."

She slid up onto a stool, pulling him over to her. Sadly, she touched one of the marks. "I remember this one. This was the first time I ever caught you in the act. I'd suspected, of course. You were swinging so wildly between emotions, happy and floating one minute, grumpy and snarling the next, but I didn't let myself actually believe you could be using until I saw it with my own eyes." She moved over to his other arm, touching a mark far down on his wrist. "And this one, this was the night I found out I had the job offer from the senator. I was so excited and wanted to celebrate with you. Instead I spent the night with you in a cold shower, trying not fall apart when I realized you were drifting further and further away from me." The pad of her finger coasted up his forearm, stopping on a particularly dark scar near his inner elbow. "This one, this is the night it all fell apart. I don't think you even realized what you were saying, but the very fact that you could say them, that I meant so little to you, shattered me." Her grey eyes peered up at him, and he remembered why he'd hated arguing with her so much. She wasn't a profiler, or an agent, or a gambler, or in any way adept at hiding her emotions. They all shone from her like a beacon, making him feel her pain and fear as his own. "Do you understand now? Can you see why I'm skeptical?"

"She's my daughter too, Chancellor." He murmured, pulling his arms away. "She's probably the only child I'll ever have. I deserve to know her. I _need_ to know her."

"And what about her?" Chance stepped off the stool, pulling out her phone to open a picture of Rune's last day of kindergarten. "Look at her, and remember that, while this all revolves around her, she'd innocent. If you want to be a parent, you have to start thinking like a parent. What will you say to her? How will you explain this? She's spent six years of her life without a father. How long are you willing to wait for her to become comfortable enough to claim you?" She forced the phone into his hand. "Look at her, then tell me that, right now, you're thinking about what's best for her and not your own wants."

"Studies show-"

"I don't care about the studies, Spencer. I care about her." She turned the phone, taking in the well-known lines of her daughter's face. "She is my light and my world and everything that's good in my life. She is the only thing that really matters to me. My job, this house, you, the world; it can all go to hell. Her health and safety are the only things that are truly important. Do you feel that way? Do you think that way? Or are you too caught up in thinking that a child you didn't know about until two days ago is the perfect Band-Aid for your broken heart?"

He glanced up, startled. "What do you-"

"You loved her, the woman you saw die." Chancellor's voice was oddly hollow, but she didn't let herself dwell on it. Sometime around the time he mentioned that Rune was the only child he was likely to have, she realized that he had no intentions of ever dating again. Whoever that woman had been was who he considered the love of his life and, without her, he intended to stay a bachelor. "You're still broken, and you have no intention of fixing yourself. I get it, don't get me wrong. It's not just her that's gone; it's the dreams of everything you could have had. Marriage and a family and the achingly normal life you've craved since you first realized that your mother was ill. And, with Rune, you think you can recapture just a bit of that dream." She berated herself when she realized that she was on the verge of tears for the second time that day. "But my daughter is not the child you could have had with that woman. She's not part of your fantasy family. She's a real, living, breathing being that you had the misfortune of having with _me_, not the person you saw pass away, and she can never fulfill that wish you have.

"One of the hardest things I learned was that, as a parent, we don't matter anymore. Everything has to be focused on our children and their well-being. We can't use them to fulfill our wishes, and we can't treat them as pawns in some invisible chess game with fate. This is going to sound harsh, but nothing you do will ever give you the family you wanted with her, and I can't let my daughter grow up feeling second-best because her mother isn't the woman you want."

"Don't I deserve the chance to prove that I can be a good father?" Spencer asked, clenching his jaw. Her words hit a little too close to the mark for his comfort. Maeve had been his hope. He'd planned an entire future around her, dreaming of the happy life they'd share. Chance was right; it wasn't just Maeve he lost. He lost the entire life he'd hoped to have. "I deserve the chance to prove that I will never treat her as a replacement."

"And I deserve the right to know that my daughter will never come to me crying because her father wanted a different child with a different woman, as she's just not enough to fill that hole."

He stepped away, straightening his shoulders. "I will take you to court if I have to, Chancellor. Rune is my daughter too. I will be a part of her life."

She stayed quiet for a moment, mulling over her options. She could take that route. She could force the issue and let them both be dragged to court, with everyone coming out the loser of a messy custody battle, Rune included. Or she could take the high ground and find a compromise. She could find a way to usage her fears about Spencer's capabilities as a parent and still give him contact with his child. "I'm not saying you can't be a part of her life." She finally said, crushing down the terror tying her stomach in knots. "I'm saying you have to prove yourself. Prove to me, with more than words and bare arms, that you're clean, and prove to me that you're willing and ready to make the sacrifices being a parent entails. Prove that you're willing to do what's best for Rune, not yourself."

"How?"

"We have a month until Rune gets back from summer camp. Are you in NA?" He nodded. "Then I'd like to talk to your sponsor. Also, you can come over, or call, whenever you like and I'll catch you up on the six years you've missed." She nodded to his messenger bag. "There's a lot more than what you have there. If I'm satisfied that you really are sober by the time Rune returns, I'll tell her about you, and I'll leave the decision up to her. If she wants to meet you, then fine, but it will be in this house under my supervision until I feel like I can trust you with her. Once that happens, we'll contact a lawyer and work out a custody agreement that saves us both a load of court fees and gets you out of any child support, past or present."

"And if she doesn't want to meet me?"

"Then it's her choice." She saw his face fall and reminded herself that she had to do what was best for Rune. If Spencer really was clean, then her daughter life could only be enhanced by the inclusion of her father. "But, I will continue to bring up the subject with her once a week until she either agrees or tells me that she has no interest in meeting you under any circumstances."

He nodded, deflating slightly. He wanted to fight. She could see it in his eyes. He wanted to tell her that he wanted his daughter _now_, but some part of him, the part that was instinctually paternal, was winning out. He realized that would only lead to a nasty fight that would hurt Rune more than anyone. What she was offering was better than that. Some irrational part of her was pleased to see he was already thinking like a parent. "I don't mind paying child support. I want to help care for her."

"I don't need your help, though. My salary is generous enough that she doesn't want for anything." Chance remembered the pride that came with being able to provide that for her daughter and realized Spencer would probably like a bit of that sense of accomplishment himself. "I have a college savings account set up for her. When it gets to the point that we need to get in contact with a lawyer, I'll ask him what the suggested monthly child support is and you can deposit that amount into the account. We'll keep it out of the official custody agreement though, that way, if things are a little tight one month, you don't have to worry about missing a payment."

"You should not have kept this from me, Chancellor. If I had known you were pregnant, I would have quit sooner."

"Maybe. Maybe not. We'll never know and it was a chance I couldn't take." She pushed his soda toward him. "Come on. I have some scrapbooks in the living room. Let's begin with the retelling of pregnancy hell and her first year of life."

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**_Please read and review._**


	8. Chapter 8

_**ripon: Thank you! I'm not quite sure how Reid is going to reconcile his guilt over Maeve's death with his need to move past it in order to be a healthy father, but it will come to me in time. Either way, he is going to have to realize that he can't let it dominate his life if he wants to build a strong relationship with his daughter. Sorry about the confusion of the grammar compliment. Looking back at it, it could have been taken either way, and it was my own fault for choosing to see the negative. A silly thing to do since your comments have been nothing but praise, something I'm extremely grateful for. I apologize for confusion.**_

_**LeedsUK: Thank you! I hope this doesn't disappoint.**_

_**Kira Tsumi: Sorry the updates are a little slow. We only have one computer in the house and, on my husband's night off, I give it up to let him play Star Wars. Thank you for the review! I'm glad you like the story so far.**_

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"Chancellor! Come here, darlin'."

Obligingly, Chance trotted over to her boss' side, mentally counting down the minutes until they could leave. Her feet hurt, the dress itched, and, since Spencer decided her offer of anytime he liked literally meant _any _time he liked, including such esoteric hours as ten at night, five in the morning, and two friggin' a.m., she was dog tired. All she wanted to do was go home and try to catch a few hours of sleep before he decided it was time for another scrapbook journey.

"Mike Rawlins, this is Chancellor Becker. She a crack aide with blade for a tongue and a whetstone for a mind. She's also nice enough to keep me company at these miserable functions." She stiffened as an arm was thrown over her shoulders. It was awkward enough acting as his escort. Having people think she was sleeping with her boss was enough to make her stomach churn. "Chance, this is Mike Rawlins. He's lobbyin' on behalf of a group seeking federally mandated recognition of same-sex marriage. That's one of your pet projects, isn't it?"

"It's of growing interest to your constituents, sir." She replied delicately, stepping out from under his arm. "Many are beginning to realize that several of their friends and loved ones fall on the LGBTQ spectrum and they'd like to see them with the same rights as those identifying as heterosexual."

"As would most of America." Mike Rawlins added, smiling at her. "Polls show as much as a 70% approval of marriage equality."

"And others show as low as 32%." Chance countered. "You have to look at the bias behind the group taking the poll. National surveys by relatively unbiased sources seem to hold steady at 54%."

"That's still the majority rule, and bans are being struck down across the country, yet our federal government still hasn't placed any laws on the books protecting same-sex couples who are married in one state from being downgraded to a civil partnership in another."

"You don't have to argue your case with me, Mr. Rawlins. I support your client's cause wholeheartedly." She took a sip of the wine she'd been carrying around most of the night. "I was merely making the point that you'll get further by citing accurate statistics rather than the plumped or pruned numbers given by biased sources. Leave propaganda to the media. Give us the facts."

He narrowed his gaze a bit. "The facts, Ms. Becker, are that, even at a 54% approval rating, too many married couples are denigrated and denied the liberties given to millions of other couples simply because they happen to be of the same sex."

"As I said, you don't have to argue your case with me. I believe there should be a constitutional amendment legalizing not only same-sex marriages, but polygamous marriages among consenting adults. Unfortunately, the leaps and bounds we've made in recent decades toward understanding human sexuality and attraction haven't quite transferred over to our legal system."

"Which is why I have a job."

"Which is why you have this job." Chance corrected. "Let's not forget that you work for an agency that was hired to promote this bill. For the right price, you could just as easily be promoting to views of so-called 'traditional marriage' supporters."

"I warned you about her tongue, Mike." Her boss interrupted, clapping him on the back. "Chance, darlin', I think I just saw Bernie come in. I'm gonna leave you two to duke it out. Try not to slice him to ribbons."

"No promises."

"It appears I should have brought a shield." Mike laughed, watching her boss cross the room. "Though you're wrong about my price. Marriage equality is a cause dear to my heart. I wouldn't vouch for the other side no matter how much they paid me."

"A lobbyist with morals? Hell has officially frozen over."

He cocked his head to the side, smirking slightly as he let his eyes roam over her. "You have a very low opinion of me, don't you?"

Chance sighed, shaking her head. "I have a very low opinion of your line of work. It's hard to respect someone who would argue against his own beliefs or best interests if they're paid enough."

"Not all of us are like that."

"Too many of you are."

Laughing, he took her wine glass, setting it on a nearby table. "Come dance with me and let me prove otherwise."

Grudgingly, Chance let herself be led onto the dance floor. She didn't care for his line of work, but Mike was an attractive man. Honey blond hair waved back from clear blue eyes and he had a slender runner's build. A runner's grace too, she realized as he carefully led her in waltz. "Why are you giving attention to my boss, Mr. Rawlins? He's a good man, but, in the grand Washington scene, he's a bit player."

"I looked up his voting record. He's one of the few willing to vote according to the needs of his constituents, not along party lines. If I can win him over now, I can count on support for future measures that might not fall on his side of the aisle."

"As you said, he votes according to the needs of his constituents. What makes you think that advocating for one bill that helps them will give you leeway on a bill that might not?"

"Because I don't intend to approach him about bills that won't benefit his constituents, and the American public at large." He spun her slowly, seeming to recognize that dancing wasn't her strongest skill. "Despite your low opinion of my profession, my firm handles things differently. While we advocate for a wide range of clients, conservative and liberal alike, the individual lobbyists are allowed to choose their topics. I will never have to advocate for the American Family Association, and one of the other partners will never have to advocate for G.L.A.A.D. We believe in sticking to our individual values." Grinning, he pulled her an inch or two closer. "It makes our arguments more passionate."

Cringing, she pulled back a bit. "Perhaps more reason and data would serve you better than passion."

"Reason and data mean nothing if you can't pull the heartstrings of the general population." He shot back, still smiling. "Propaganda is vile, but it's effective."

"Taking lessons from Joseph Goebbels*****?"

"Now that's just rude, Ms. Becker."

"I don't often feel polite about anyone who can point out a benefit of propaganda."

"Which is why I prefaced my statement by acknowledging that propaganda is, in and of itself, vile."

Chance rolled her eyes. "That is like arguing that, while genocide is an atrocity, at least is cuts down on an overpopulated society."

Mike laughed down at her. Even in her heels, which boosted her up to a respectable 5'8", he towered over her. "You equate propaganda with genocide?"

"Sadly, as evidenced in Nazi Germany, Rwanda, and Sudan, the two often go hand in hand."

"Fair enough, and this is a very dark topic." He twirled her around a little too quickly as she lost her footing. Deftly, he masked her stumble with some creative footwork and quickly moved them back into the flow of the dance. "Surely there's something happier we can discuss."

"I believe my boss put us together so that we could discuss your current project. We could go back to that."

"Actually, he got us together because I asked who the gorgeous red-head in the yellow dress was. The project was just an excuse to get you talking."

Chance blushed to the roots of her hair. She'd been on a few dates since Rune was born, but they were few and far between and never went beyond a chaste kiss at the front door. Even in her clubbing days, before she was with Spencer, she'd never been considered attractive enough for someone to use a ruse in order to get her attention. It was flattering and disconcerting at the same time. "Flirting with another man's date is incredibly rude, even with his permission."

"If rumors are to be believed, I'm more his type than you are."

"Rumors should never be believed."

He turned them slightly, pointing into a far corner. Her boss stood with another congressman. The two were just a little too close to each other for it to be two friends talking, and the looks they gave each other spoke of more than two colleagues catching up. "Somehow, I think this one was dead on."

Chance shook her head. Technically, she was supposed to go pull her boss out of this situation. Her entire purpose as his escort was to prevent the public from learning his sexuality. Right now, however, what she was technically supposed to do could take a flying leap. The sooner he came out of the closet, the sooner she could stop attending these stuffy affairs all together. "I can neither confirm nor deny your accusation."

"Been practicing that one?" Mike asked, laughing.

"You've worked in politics long enough to know that's the standard reply for anything that's not on pre-approved cue cards."

"That I have. It's one of the main reason I switched to the private sector. Chatting people up is so much easier than navigating the Washington minefield."

"You used to be a public servant?"

"I was on Clinton's staff."

"I was in middle school during Clinton's first term."

"Well that's sobering." The music died down, and he led her off the dance floor. "How old are you, exactly? I wouldn't want to be a cradle robber."

Chance arched an eyebrow, catching a roaming server and quietly requesting some bourbon. Screw propriety. Wine wasn't going to be enough to kill the ache in her feet. "You're assuming you'll be getting more than a dance from me."

"Oh, we'll be going on a date before the end of next week." He said confidently. "I know where you work. I'll send flowers and candy grams to your office until your coworkers pester you into agreeing."

"I hate to break it to you, but I have a very slim list of people that can pester me into doing anything, and there's not a single coworker that's on it."

He shrugged, a cocky smile in place. "Nevertheless, by this time next week we'll be eating a romantic candlelight dinner together."

"You can see the future?"

"Nope, but I can see a woman in desperate need of a night out that doesn't involve cardboard pizza and worrying about whether or not her kid is going to catch a case of flesh eating bacteria from the ball pit."

She swirled around, focusing on him, grey eyes going wide. "How did you-"

"Your dress shows a bit of a tattoo on your shoulder. Footprints, right? That usually mean you have a kid." Mike guided her to a chair. "Boy or girl? How old?"

"Girl. Six."

"Her father."

"Complicated."

"But you are single?"

Chance shook herself out of the momentary stupor she found herself in. Mentally, she regulated this dress to the Goodwill pile and resolved that, next time she had to come to one of these damn things, she was going to dress like a nun. "It doesn't really matter if I am or not, because I'm not going on a date with you."

"Do you not date on principle, or does it have to do with your daughter?"

"Neither. I date. Not frequently, but I date. I just have no desire to date you."

"Why?" He didn't seem to take offence. Instead, Mike spread his arms wide, gesturing to all of himself. "I'm charming, handsome enough, and we can hold a decent conversation with each other. Surely it's not just because I'm a lobbyist?"

She sat back and thought for a moment. He wasn't lying, and he was already far more interesting than any of the other men she'd tried to date over the years. In reality, there was no good reason for her not to go on a date with, except that her gut told her that she shouldn't. She couldn't explain it. It just seemed like there was this instinctual warning bell going off in her head that this man was not someone she wanted to spend too much time around. "It's not because you're a lobbyist." Chance finally said, smiling gratefully at the server who'd manage to hunt her down and pass over the bourbon. "It's my life at the moment. I wasn't lying when I said things were complicated with my child's father. Until I get that straightened out, I'm not in a position to date anyone."

That was a complete lie. Dating or not dating wouldn't affect the deal she had with Spencer. In fact, dating just might save her a couple sleepless nights, because Spencer, for all his flaws, would be respectful enough not to show up at her house on a night he knows she's been on a date.

"Bad divorce?" Mike asked.

"I've never been married."

"Bad custody battle?"

"It's complicated, Mr. Rawlins." Chance happened to catch a glance of her boss waving her down. Grimacing, she stood. "It was nice meeting you. I wish you all the best on your lobbying campaign."

"I'm not giving up, Chancellor." He called. "Next Friday, eight o'clock. Just wait and see!"

She waved behind her, ignoring his comments. Next Friday at eight o'clock, she'd hopefully be curled up in her living room with Netflix and a good book.

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*** _Joseph Goebbels was the Reich Minister of Propaganda during Hitler's Nazi regime. He was once famously quoted as saying, "If you tell a lie big enough, and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."_**

**_Please read and review._**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Pink2D**__**: Thank you for the review. I actually thought I was doing a decent job at keeping the cursing to a minimum, considering I have a mouth like a sailor in real life. Still, I'll try to tone it down further. I can't promise it will stop completely, though. Sometimes "Gosh darn it!" just doesn't cover it.**_

_**Guest: Thank you! Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to their future. I have a set direction I want the story to go, but, as to their relationship, I'm in the dark. We'll just have to see how it plays out.**_

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_**Author's Note: I get a lot of questions about Reid and Chance's future. I still don't know, guys. They could end up together. They could stay friends. They could end up in a prolonged argument that turns into restrained civility for the sake of their daughter. It's a mystery to me as well as you. All I know is that, whether they like it or not, they're stuck as a part of each other's lives because they share a child.**_

_**On another note, what I do know about this story is that it's going to come in two parts. Best Kept Secrets... will end with Reid finally meeting his daughter, and the sequel, ...Always Come to Light, will finally resolve where Spencer and Chance end up. I'm doing it this way because I have a great action piece in mind for this story, and I don't feel that the process of resolving Reid and Chancellor's relationship should be drug out after the climax. Stick with me. I know that many of you are here because you're interested in what will happen to the two of them, but my main concern, for this particular story, has more to do with the complexities of how two people, who aren't in a relationship and have a painful history with one another, can come together as parents.**_

_**Thank you all for reading!**_

_**Love,**_

_**J.M.**_

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Chance groaned, laying her head on her desk as a delivery man called her name. She didn't want to look. She wasn't going to look. If she looked, that made it real, and a man this annoying couldn't possibly exist in real life.

Bryan poked her in the ribs, grinning like a loon. "Tulips this time."

"We're lucky no one in the office has allergies. At this rate it looks like we're opening our own flower shop." She groused, reluctantly signaling the delivery man over. Mike hadn't been kidding about flowers and candy grams. Every desk, table, and countertop in the office had a fresh bouquet, sometimes two. She was running out of room.

"So what does this one say?" Bryan asked, peering over her shoulder as she signed for the tulips and pulled out the card.

Chance scowled as she read over the typed missive. "'Give in yet?'"

Her partner and the only person she worked with that she considered a friend let out a laugh. "Did no one warn this guy about a red-head's stubbornness?"

"I don't know, but he's going to learn about a red-head's temper first hand if he doesn't cut it out. This is getting ridiculous."

"Baby doll, you passed ridiculous with yesterday's singing candy gram. What was the song? 'You Made Me Love You'?"

"Yep." She crumpled up the card, tossing it in the wastebasket. The candy gram came complete with a dozen chocolate roses and a portly older gentleman in a cupid's outfit. She'd had to sit there, mortified, as the man crooned out his song and reminded her, loud enough for the entire office to hear, that her Friday deadline was fast approaching. What Mr. Mike Rawlins didn't seem to realize was that, the more he pushed this, the less likely he was to ever get his date.

Bryan collapsed back onto his side of their shared cubicle. "What did you say to this guy to get him so interested?"

"I have no idea!" She exclaimed, pushing some papers out of her inbox and plopping the flowers in their place. "I was rude! I insulted his profession, his opinions, and the way he handled his business! I stepped on his feet on the dance floor, and I told him that I wasn't interested in dating him! I don't know how any of that translated into 'try harder, idiot', but that's apparently the impression he got, because he hasn't stopped!"

"Maybe you should just be flattered that he's trying so hard."

"Maybe I should kick him in the cajones and see if that gets the point across."

Bryan winced, instinctually squeezing his legs together. "That's just cruel."

Chance sighed, sinking back in her chair. "I wouldn't actually do it. You know that."

"Chancellor Becker?" A voice called out over the cacophony of their busy office.

Groaning, she sunk under her desk, pulling the chair forward to hide. "I'm not here. I'm out to lunch. I'm on vacation. I died. I don't care what you tell them, just send the flowers back!"

"I think it's another candy gram." Bryan whispered. "The guy's dressed in a suit. Think we'll get a taste of Sinatra this time?"

Chance caught the mischievous twinkle in his eyes and cursed. He wasn't going to help her hide. He was going to help Mike embarrass her. It was times like this that she wondered why she put up with him. "Bryan, don't you-"

"Over here!" He yelled out, pointing down at her under the desk. "She's in hiding, don't let her get away with it!"

An older balding gentleman with a salt-and-pepper goatee peered under the desk, grinning when he saw her crouching there like a child trying to hide something from an irate parent. "Drop your pen?"

Already blushing, Chance crawled out, plopping into her seat with a scowl. "Just sing and get it over with."

The man arched an eyebrow. "I'm supposed to sing?"

Hope sparked in her chest. "You're not a candy gram?"

"Jack Fickler. I'm friends with Spencer Reid. He said you'd like to talk to me."

Her eyes popped open. This must be Spencer's sponsor. She'd expected Spencer to bring them over one night, not send them to her workplace, but, hey, if it got her out of the office for an hour or so and, hopefully, helped her miss a few deliveries, she'd take it. Quickly, she grabbed her purse. "I'm taking an early lunch. If anymore mutilated plants arrive, redirect them to anywhere but here. And if I, God willing, miss a candy gram, tell the guy to go serenade the boss man. It's his fault I'm in this mess."

Bryan gave a mock salute, turning back to his computer, while Chance led Spencer's sponsor from the office. "I apologize for that, Mr. Fickler. I have a rather persistent suitor and he's determined to disrupt my working hours as much as possible."

"It's quite alright, Ms. Becker. Though, I have to admit, I've never met a woman who'd rather hide than receive chocolate and a song."

"Did Spencer explain the situation to you?" Chance asked, ignoring the comment. While Mike's attention was flattering, she couldn't turn off that warning bell that told her he was bad news, and she didn't feel like explaining her instinct to someone she didn't even know.

"Not really. He did tell me to inform you that I have a right to full disclosure."

Chance stopped, cocking her head to the side. That was oddly considerate. Rather than spilling the whole story, Spencer was giving her the option of telling which pieces she didn't mind a stranger learning. "I see." She shook her head, continuing to walk. "The long and short of it is, Spencer is a father."

"Is? Or is going to be?" Fickler asked, scanning her abdomen.

Chance laughed. "Is. Rune, his daughter, and mine, is already six."

"Spencer never mentioned a child."

"Because he didn't know about her until a little over a week ago." She let him lead her to a small diner around the corner. "Just to be clear, who are you to Spencer?"

Fickler smiled slightly, leading her to a far corner table. "I'm his NA sponsor, and I'd like to consider him a friend."

She smiled as he held her chair out for her. "Thank you. I'm sorry. You'll understand that I had to be sure before I explained the entire story." Chance fell silent as a server handed them their menus and took their drink orders. As soon as the woman left, she continued. "With his job being what it is, if someone found out about his addiction it could spell the doom of his career."

He nodded, calmly nodded, reaching into his wallet and flipping open his I.D. "I think I understand why you're concerned."

Chance blanched, reading over the credentials. "Director! I'm sorry, sir. I didn't realize you were his boss as well."

"When Spencer and I speak together as sponsor and sponsored, I'm not his boss, and he's not Agent Reid. It's just Jack and Spencer. Since we're discussing something related to the meeting, I'd prefer if you call me Jack as well."

"Only if you call me Chancellor or Chance, whichever you feel more comfortable with." She took her iced tea gratefully, waiting until their server moved away again. "Anyway, Jack, when I discovered I was pregnant, Spencer was still using heavily. We had an argument back then, some hurtful things were said, and, fearful of my child knowing what it was to grow up with an addict as a caregiver, I scurried to Mississippi and never told him about the baby."

"But you moved back."

"I work for a politician and D.C. is the heart of our nation's politics." Chance smiled wistfully, thinking of the old farmhouse she'd bought and renovated in Mississippi shortly after Rune was born. She missed it sometimes. It was odd waking up to car horns of so many years of waking up to cows. "At any rate, he knows now, and he wants to be part of her life. I'm not entirely comfortable with that-"

"Because of his previous addiction." Jack finished for her, nodding along. "I see why you wanted to talk to me." Their server came back with refills and they quickly gave her their order. "If it eases your mind at all, Spencer's recovery has been remarkable. No relapses. Very few close-encounters. He's only had to call me a handful of times over the years because he was on the cusp of picking up a needle. I wish everyone I'd sponsored over the years was like him. Once he decided to quit, he quit."

Chance nodded. "And these instances where he called you? I hate to pry, but I need to know the details."

Jack nodded, clasping his hands in front of him. "Well, the most recent time was directly of Maeve's death." He paused, glancing up at her. "I'm assuming you know about Maeve."

"I didn't know her name, but I knew his most recent girlfriend had passed away under particularly unpleasant circumstances and Spencer had been unfortunate enough to see it happen."

"Her name was Maeve, and she meant a great deal to Spencer." Jack said carefully, watching for her reaction. "I don't know if you're allowing him into your daughter's life because you think it might rekindle an old relationship, but-"

"Spencer was my first love, and I'll always carry a bit of a torch for him, but, if I'd gotten my way, Spencer would have never found out about Rune, and neither of us would be forcing ourselves so far out of our comfort zones in order to make a future relationship between the two possible." Chance interrupted, blushing at his suggestion. "When I say that hurtful things were said, I mean things that I'm still not sure I'll ever be able to forgive. Right now, the only relationship I want with him is a friendly custody agreement."

Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "Right. Good. Anyway, that was the most recent event. Another time was when he witnessed a young teenager die on the job, and the only other time I can remember, because this one struck me as odd, was he found some lotion from a previous girlfriend and it tore him up. He never fully explained why, but I remember thinking it was strange that something so simple could send someone so close to falling off the wagon."

Chance held her breath, but carefully forced her expression to remain neutral. If Spencer wanted to spill his secrets to this man, it was his business, but she wasn't going to volunteer any information. Especially not the identity of the owner of that particular bottle of lotion. "OK, death and sentiment seem to be his triggers. Nice to know. What else?"

Jack shrugged, taking his roast beef sandwich and grabbing the ketchup. "He's still going through the grieving process. I think he's firmly settled into the anger phase right now, which isn't good, but it's better than the depression that gripped him for months. Still, he was smiling when he told me you needed to talk to me. It's the first time I've seen that smile since Maeve died. I didn't know why at the time, but I think the prospect of being a father may be distracting him from his pain."

"And do you think distraction is the best way for him to handle it?" She asked, pulling the onion and tomato off her turkey club.

"I think sometimes distraction is the only way to move past things." He answered candidly. "When my first wife left me, I didn't move past it until I was working 18 hour days just after 9/11. By the time I dug myself out of all the paperwork and was able to focus on myself again, the pain had dissipated, and I was able to heal properly."

"Well, being a parent is certainly time consuming."

"But you still have your fears."

"Wouldn't you? The last thing I want is my daughter to be a replacement for the fantasy family he wanted with Maeve."

Jack chuckled, quickly swallowing a bite of sandwich. "Look, I have no doubt that, subconsciously, that's exactly why Spencer is so excited to know he has a child, but I'm also a parent. Some things are instant and instinctual. Trust me when I say that, the moment he lays eyes on his daughter, all of that will fade and the only thing he'll be concerned about is being the best father possible to that little girl."

"And if that doesn't happen?" Chance asked. "Spencer's brain doesn't work like most people's."

"Some things transcend even conditions like Asperger's." He assured her.

She nodded. "And, just to be clear, Spencer has a firm grip on his addiction and isn't likely to use again."

"I usually subscribe to a never-say-never philosophy, but I'd be willing to go against that in Spencer's case. If I had to make a bet, I'd say he'll never touch Dilaudid again."

They finished their lunch in silence and Jack graciously offered to walk her back to her office. Before he left, he pulled her to the side of the steps. "Chance, when I said that I'd bet Spencer would never use again, there are certain exceptions. A bottle of your lotion nearly broke him once." He grinned at her shock. "You have a lousy poker face. As I was saying, a bottle of your lotion nearly broke him once. If you express an interest in rekindling a relationship while he's still grieving, the combination of guilt and memories will destroy him, and all the progress he's made over the years will disintegrate with a few ill-chosen words. You say you'll always carry a torch. Don't. Douse it. Send the fire department after it. Drop in ocean. Do whatever you have to do, but put it out, because if he even gets a hint of it, he'll use and we all know where that leads." Jack pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Becker. Think about what I said."

Chance nodded dumbly, watching him go. Trudging into the office, she collapsed at her desk, glaring daggers at the bouquet of tulips still in her inbox. She pulled out the first card she'd gotten from Mike, the one with his numbers and information on it, and picked up the phone. This was going against every instinct she had. She shouldn't be doing this. She shouldn't be letting a stranger's opinion dictate her life. But she'd given everything to Spencer all those years ago, doing everything he needed her to do because nothing made her happier than knowing he was happy. It appeared that some things never changed and, unless it went against her daughter's best interests, this was the way her life was going to go.

"What are you doing?" Bryan asked, rolling his chair over to her side of the cubicle.

She scowled, listening to phone ring. "Dousing a flame."

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**_Please read and review._**


	10. Chapter 10

_**ripon: Thanks! I think Jack will be making regular appearances toward the end of this story and throughout the sequel. I like him and I think he'll end up being a good sounding board for them both.**_

_**TohruKur: Of course it's going to bite her in the back. It has to bite her in the back. Where, in any story, does someone go against their instincts and it not bite them in the back? Lol. Thank you for the review. I appreciate the feedback. I'm sorry the chapter didn't end like you wanted, but I'm trying to move the story along. Spencer knows. He's making progress toward gaining Chance's trust and meeting his daughter, now we have to lead up to the exciting bits.**_

_**Guest: I think determination will be the least of her problems when it comes to Mr. Rawlins.**_

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She was asleep. Spencer smiled softly, setting down the movie he'd brought and kneeling by the couch. Chance's sleeping habits hadn't changed. She could fall asleep anywhere, and she sprawled. Even now she had one leg hooked over the back of the couch and the fingers of her opposite hand brushing the floor.

Her hair, which he'd only seen carefully brushed and styled since she'd returned, stuck up in every direction. Her lipstick was long gone, and he found he preferred the natural soft pink to her lips as opposed to the deep mauve she'd taken to painting them. Even the mascara that had rubbed off didn't detract from achingly familiar picture he found himself staring at. It deepened the shadows under her eyes, highlighting her exhaustion.

Without thinking about it, he ran his hand through the short spikes of her messy hair. He missed the length she used to have. There was a time when he could do this and hold the strands out to create a shimmering red curtain that slipped through his fingers like water. Now they barely connected over his hand, tickling his knuckles.

Chancellor whimpered, shifting in her sleep and craning her head at an awkward angle to bring his palm in line with her cheek. Spencer chuckled quietly, low enough not to wake her, and brought his other hand up, running his thumbs along her cheekbones.

She'd always loved this, he remembered, disgusted to find that, like all memories before his addiction, the images were faded and vague. It was like looking at them through a thin sheet of ice. He could see her, the way she'd curled into his touch like a kitten seeking warmth. He could feel the warm press of where she'd placed kisses on his palm and fingers. He could recall the grip of her fingers around his wrist, holding him to her. It was all blurred though, out of focus, like something you just manages to catch out of the corner of your eye.

He'd asked her once, why she loved it so much when he cupped her face between his palms. She'd blushed, and, if he concentrated, he could still feel the heat. Stuttering and stumbling, she'd explained that it made her feel treasured, as if she were someone important to him. For once in his life, he couldn't think of a single way to explain that she was his world. That, after work and cases and the horror he witnessed every day, coming home and knowing that she was only a phone call away settled his spirit. He couldn't explain that, if it weren't for the fact that she was so young, so isolated from normalcy most college students gravitated toward, he'd have already slipped a ring on her finger and declared to the world that no one else could ever have her. Instead, he'd given her a gentle kiss, the kind that had made her melt against him and cling to his hips like he was the last life raft on a sinking ship, and left her to the supper she'd been making for them.

It felt wrong to him, remembering Chance this way. She'd changed. He'd changed. And Maeve still sat in the back of his mind, reminding him of who he was supposed to be with now. What he'd had with Maeve and what he'd had with Chance were two completely separate things though. Maeve had been friendship and warmth and comfort. She'd been conversations in which he never had to stop and explain and emotions that surpassed whatever her physical looks might have been.

Chance had been need. Chance had been a clawing desire inside of him that never manifested in any single form. Sometimes it was the nurturing side of her he desired; someone to hold him and love him and ensure that he was eating and sleep properly. Other times it was the vixen; someone to remind him that passion and love could manifest itself in the most delicious outpouring of desire that he'd ever managed to experience with another person. Or he could need the child; someone to drag him to parks in the dead of night to remind how much fun it was to jump from swings, or to pull him into arcades for drawn out games of air hockey, which he half-suspected she always let him win just to tease him later about his gloating. It took him months of watching her to realize that there wasn't one thing he needed from her; he needed all of her. Every single odd and interesting facet of her personality that he discovered during their time together was an essential part of who she was and another reason for him to pull her to him and swear he'd never let her go. His biggest regret would be letting Dilaudid dull that realization.

Her eyes fluttered sleepily, and she nuzzled into his hand. "Spence." She murmured, and his heart stopped for a moment. How many times had she said his name, just like that, after waking up? Sleepy and full of warmth and love? Chance grinned, turning her head and pressing a kiss into his palm. Suddenly, she jerked, sitting bolt up on the couch. "Spence! Oh my god! I'm so sorry. I was half-asleep. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. It's fine." He laughed, settling his hands on her shoulders. "You're not the only one who remembers."

"Yeah, well, you can't exactly forget, can you? You have an eidetic memory." She stood, straightening her skirt and smoothing down her hair.

Spencer stopped her. He preferred her hair messy. It made her more approachable. "Some things, even without an eidetic memory, are impossible to forget."

She bushed, her entire face turning bright red. He knew from experience that her entire body blushed when she was embarrassed. "Right. Well… umm… Ok." She moved away, pulling out a stack of discs from the entertainment center. "I dug through some of the boxes last night and found some home movies. I have… well; we're not watching that one." She tucked one of the discs back into the case. "I have her first Christmas, her first birthday, all the other birthdays and Christmases, her school plays from pre-K and kindergarten, and her kindergarten graduation."

"What's the one we're not going to watch?" He asked, grabbing the disc before she could hide it beneath a pile of DVDs. "Rune's birth? You had her delivery recorded? Who on Earth did that?"

"My poor, scarred-for-life brother, but only because he didn't want to risk me breaking his hand while I was pushing."

"Who held your hand instead?"

"Bryan."

"Who's Bryan?"

"A friend that I work with." Chance jerked the disc back, shoving it under the DVDs. "So come on, what would you like to see first? Birthdays, holidays, plays, or graduation?"

"None of the above." He picked up a movie from the coffee table. "Morgan and Garcia mentioned that they saw _The Guardians of Childhood_ series on you purchase list. I've been trying to learn about some of her interests, and I'm waiting for the books to come in, but this is supposed to be based on the books. I thought we could watch it and you could tell me if it matches up at all."

She grinned, bending down to the bottom shelf and pulling out the same movie. "It's one of her favorites. It's more like a sequel to the books than a retelling of them, but it's still good. Once you get the books, you'll see a lot of similarities between Jack Frost and Nightlight." She popped open the case, opening the DVD tray and turning on the TV. "Nightlight is her favorite character from the books, by the way, though she prefers Bunny in the movie. Let me go make some popcorn and get us some drinks."

"Do you still prefer subtitles?"

"Yep!" She yelled from the kitchen, and he heard ice rattling in glasses. "Will you need help working the remote?"

"I'll figure it out." He examined the complicated device that worked as a universal remote. Experimentally, he pressed the DVD/VCR button and tried to close the tray. He'd be lying if he didn't say a sigh of relief escaped when it worked.

Chance came back in the room a few moments later and, handing him a glass of tea and settling the popcorn on the side table, curled up in an overstuffed armchair. Reluctantly, he sat at the end of the couch nearest to her. They weren't supposed to watch movies this way. Before, she'd always lain with her head in his lap, the popcorn balanced on his other leg and their drinks on the floor.

He started the movie, and they settled in to watch. A laugh bubbled up as, less than three minutes in, she started spouting off trivia about the movie, the actors, the director, and the author of the original books. That much hadn't changed at least. Chance was a movie junkie, and, especially since she'd gone to college before streaming videos, she'd taken to watching any movie she owned both as a motion picture and also with the commentary on. She had a good memory for voices. She often joked that she was the opposite of him. He remembered everything he saw; she remembered everything she heard. As a result, and the wide range of movies she'd been collecting since she was a teenager, she knew miniscule facts about almost anything film related.

After a little bit, the ramble tapered off, and she became engrossed in the movie. He could see why. It was obviously manufactured for children, but plot was entertaining and the overall moral value was something he deeply approved of for his child. The end came too soon for him, and she clicked off the TV. "That's the only part of the movie I don't like."

"The ending?" Spencer turned on the couch, watching as she tugged an afghan from behind her and tucking over her shoulders. "Isn't the good guy supposed to win?"

"No. I get that part. Children across the world would be horrified if Pitch won, but fear is, in childhood, just as important as hope, wonder, fun, and memories that turning him back into a husk is counterproductive."

"How so?"

He pressed down a grin as she started to get excited about her topic. "OK. We teach our children a lot of dos and don'ts, right? Don't cross the street without looking both ways. Don't talk to strangers. Don't run with scissors. Brush your teeth and eat your vegetables and study hard. And we do it because we know that the world is a frightening, complicated place where anything can happen. So from the moment they're born, we install a healthy fear of certain situations in them. It's not that we want them to be afraid of the world; it's because we want them realize that there is danger out there, and the best way to make them wary of it is to give them that little curl of fear, that first spark of instinct, that keeps them safe. If children had absolutely no fear, if they never worried about stranger danger or runaway cars… well, you're in law enforcement. Imagine the everyday incidents multiplied by ten."

"But you said it yourself; it's not fear, its teaching. It's training them to use their instincts."

"But it's rooted in fear. Our fear of what we know the world is, and they're fear of the horror stories, that every authority figure they've ever had has told them, will happen to them." She let out a yawn, stretching her arms over her head. "I'm sorry, Spence. It's been a long couple of days."

"Jack said he talked to you."

She nodded, frowning slightly. "He did, and that, combined with your behavior over the past couples weeks, has made me decide that I will talk to Rune about you when she comes home." Chance's voice softened and she leaned forward. "Just remember that, in the end, this is her choice. If she doesn't want to meet you straight off, or ever, then we both have to accept that."

"She's six, Chancellor. I can't see why she wouldn't want to meet her father."

"She's an exceptional six year-old who's grown up with the closest thing to a father being a great-uncle that sends postcards and a coworker of her mother's that spends most of his time with her playing goldfish. A card game she despises and only plays because she doesn't want to hurt his feelings. She doesn't know you. She doesn't know what you're like. She doesn't know about your past or present or plans for the future. Until I talk to her about you, she won't even know your name. Put your profiling skills to work. You remember how you were when you were six. Given all that, would you want to meet your father?"

Spencer sat back, blindsided. "I'm… I'm not sure."

Chance grimaced. "Neither am I. I want to believe she will. In fact, I'm 80% sure she will, simply because it wasn't until last year that she started asking questions about you and I know she isn't satisfied with my duck-and-weave style answers. But I could always be wrong, and you have to prepare yourself for that. You have to make sure ready to be patient and let her come to the decision in her own good time." She took a deep breath. "You also need to think about how you're going to explain your addiction to her. It's not something I will tell her about.

"I'll tell about my part. I'll admit that I purposefully kept you in the dark and that the reason she's only meeting you now is because of my decisions, but you'll have to come clean about your part too. I won't have a clear split early on of who's a good guy and who's a bad guy. She's got to sense, from the very beginning, that we're working together to be her parents now, not that Mommy's a complete bitch and Daddy is a blameless paragon. Which means, rather than trash talk each other, no matter how angry you are with me, or vice versa, we have to make her understand that we respect each other and, above all, that we love her."

"Essentially, you tell her your mistakes, I tell her my mistakes, and if we have to talk about the other, we make them seem like the greatest thing since sliced bread."

Chance laughed, leaning back. "I wouldn't go that far. I don't want her to get the idea that we might actually be together in anyway except as her parents, but we can't let her see any of the anger or hurt we both carry either. Those are adult problems and should be handled between adults. It's not something a six-year old should have to see."

"You know studies show that children who hear their parents argue in a healthy manner actually feel more secure and grow to become more adept at handling conflict than children who grow up in homes where their parents either appear never to fight or children whose parents are always at each other's throats."

"That's true. That was also a study done on children growing up in two-parent households. Rune will be transitioning from a single-parent household to a joint custody living arrangement. Therefore, arguing, in any way, will only serve to increase her insecurities and will do little to educate her on the proper way to deal with conflict."

"We could be a two-parent household." Chance's eyes widened to the size of flying saucers. Spencer quickly put his hands up, begging her to hear his side. "I don't mean that we reenter a romantic relationship. But, there is a growing trend among divorced couples that they continue to live together for the sake of their children. If Rune decides to meet with me, and decides to keep me in her life, we could do the same. We all live here, separate as individuals but together as parents, and raise Rune."

"Or I could shoot myself in the foot now and call it square." Chance groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "You know what; I can't talk about this right now. This is making a lot of assumptions and asking me to decide on something that might not even be feasible. So I'm going to bed. You know how to work the DVD player. You know where the home movies are, or anything else you want to watch. Sleep on the couch. Or in the guest room. I don't care. We'll revisit this at a later date."

"I'll go." He stood, and she walked him to the door. "Just think about it, Chance. Studies show that children who grow up in two-parent households are twice as likely to attend an institute of higher learning, as well as exhibit socially acceptable patterns of behavior."

"Those children are growing up in homes where there parents are not only married, but in love and happy. I can't see us living together as turning out anything but miserable, which in turn will make Rune miserable, which is something neither of us wants."

"We weren't always miserable."

"We were different people in a different situation." She pushed him out on the stoop. "How about we talk about this again when we get to point that I'm comfortable allowing you around her without supervision."

"That sounds," _disappointing, "_fair. I'll come over Friday after work and we'll watch those movies."

Chance blanched. "Why don't you make it Saturday? We'll have a day of it."

"What's wrong with Friday?"

"I have a date."

Spencer felt anger flood his stomach. "You said you don't date."

"I'm making an exception." She crossed her arms over her chest, drawing her shoulders back. "Is that a problem?"

"A bit of one, yes. How do I know this is someone I'll want around my daughter?"

"First of all, if I'm making you jump through this many hoops to get supervised visits, what makes you think that I'll let some man I haven't even gone on my first date with around her? Second, you may have spawned Rune, but I'm the one who has raised her. What makes you think that the fact your sperm happened to combine with my egg to make a child gives you any right to dictate what I do with the small portion of my life that she's not involved in? Third, and last, I reiterate, you don't even have the right to supervised visitation yet. Rune doesn't know you exist yet. Nor does she know about Mike, and _if_ Mike and I ever get to a point where I'd consider introducing him to her, I'm respectful enough to run it by her and you. So get off your high horse and get off my porch." She slammed the door in his face, leaving Spencer to bang his head against the railing and remind himself why Maeve had been such an easy relationship.

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_**Please read and review.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Natalie:**__** Maybe they will. I don't know yet, and we won't find out in this story. That'll come in the sequel. Right now it's just about them working past their issues to be good parents. Thank you for the review. I really appreciate the feedback.**_

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_**Author's Note:**__** This is just a filler chapter. It's not meant to be good. It's just meant to pull Morgan and Garcia back in and tide everyone over until I get home and can start writing consistently again. I'm travelling right now, and I won't be back in the U.S. until next week, so please be patient. I hate it when real life intrudes too, but, unfortunately, I have to be responsible from time to time. Thank you for your patience, and please allow me to apologize in advance for this chapter.**_

_**Love,**_

_**J.M.**_

* * *

"Let me get this straight, boy genius. First you suggest living together with your _ex-girlfriend_, who, might I add, you effectively destroyed when you two broke up, to the point that she felt the need to move half-way across country to protect your child, and then you get pissed off and suggest that she's a bad parent because she's going on a date?" Garcia swirled in her chair. "My god, you're an idiot."

"It was instinctual! I heard that she was going on a date and my amygdala released a flood of catecholimines before my cortex could properly temper my response."

"You let your mouth override your ass and now you're paying for it." Garcia translated. "That doesn't sound like you, Spencer."

Reid sighed running a hand through his hair. "Nothing I do involving Chancellor follows my normal pattern of behavior."

"I know. I've been watching you two since you were wee munchkins in the throes of puppy love. However, things are decidedly more complicated now." Penelope leaned forward. "You need to gain some control over that big beautiful brain of yours, focus a little less on producing serotonin or catecholimine around Chance, and focus a little more on producing some oxytocin and prolactin for when you meet your daughter. This isn't about Chance or righting wrongs long since passed. This is, and has to be, about Rune, and becoming a part of her life."

"Can't I do both?"

"Not until Chancellor is ready to forgive you, and she's just not there yet, Spencer. She's trying to be. She's going against everything her maternal instincts are screaming at her to give you a chance to be a father, and that's all you can ask of her right now. If you ask for anything more, she'll shut down, pull away, and you'll end up with a cold and distant partner in parenting and a daughter who's distrustful of you because she recognizes her mother's wariness."

Spencer groaned pacing around the small room. He felt like he was being torn apart. He wanted to prove that he could be a good father. He wanted to have a good relationship with Chance. He wanted his old relationship with her back and at the same time he felt like he was cheating since it was so soon after Maeve's death. Logically, he could reconcile the feelings. Chance was a lust for a simpler time while Maeve was grief and the death of his hope for what could have been. That didn't make it any easier to actually deal with. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Apologize, and be patient. Chancellor is loving and kind, but she's also the most stubborn person I've ever came across. Give her the time she needs to forgive you on her own terms."

"And if she never forgives me?"

"Pssh." Garcia waved the suggestion away. "Please. You've been her weak spot since she first laid eyes on you. She'll forgive you, and she'll do it a lot faster than she would anyone else who'd managed to stick their foot in their mouth in such an epic manner. Just make sure you give her time." She handed Spencer a lollipop, pointing him toward the door. "Get back to work. If everyone finishes their paperwork, Hotch might actually let us go home early."

"Isn't he going to see Beth this weekend?"

"Yep. All the more reason for him to find any excuse to get us out of the office before closing." Penny grinned. "Go. Hit the salt mines."

Spencer grinned, closing the door behind him and unwrapping his sucker. If Hotch let them go early, he might be able to catch Chance before she left for her date.

* * *

"Goldenrod or teal?"

"The blue green one."

"Teal." Chance hung the yellow dress back up in the closet, unconcerned with Derek seeing her in her bra and panties. He'd held her hair while she puked, and vice versa, and, for two terrifying days, they'd thought they might have slept with each other before Penny set them straight. "Got it. Will you pull out the turquoise and silver choker from the jewelry box?"

"You're putting a lot of effort into looking good for this guy." Derek commented, digging out the jewelry while she wriggled into the dress. "Is he someone special?"

"Not really." Chance pulled a contortionist act to pull up her own zipper. "The typical high and mighty, entitled lobbyist. He sees what he wants and he goes after it with both barrels loaded, and he decided he wants me."

"And you're letting him get you? You used to make a sport out of putting those kind of guys in their place."

"I still do, but he serves a purpose right now, one that's more important than my normal fun from showing the elite that they have to do more than snap their fingers to get what they want." She dug through her shoe boxes, searching for the heels she last wore with this dress. "So, hopefully, I give this guy a chance and he'll prove me wrong. Hopefully, he'll prove he's more than arrogance and power with a gift for rhetoric."

"And why are you are you giving him this opportunity?" He helped her fasten the choker around her neck and watched as she shifted through the jewelry box for the matching earrings.

"Why do I do anything that goes against the grain?"

"Ah. Pretty boy. I thought you were upset with him."

"Oh, I'm more than upset. I'm furious, and, if I see him right now, I'll be hard pressed not to knock his teeth in with a cast iron skillet. But, that doesn't change the fact that he's stuck in my life." She leaned down, fastening the straps of her heels around her ankles. "He is Rune's father, and he's make a concentrated effort to prove that he's ready to be part of her life. And, as her mother, I have to recognize that and do everything in my power to ensure that he stays that way."

"And you going on a date helps that?"

She gave him a withering look. "Me going on a date squashes whatever traitorous part of my brain that's been quietly suggesting, this whole time, the him coming back and being a part of Rune's life might give he and I a second chance. It pushes that aside and it'll stop me from ever telling him what I hope before it becomes more than a little thought in the back of my head and turns into something I have to spill out or die."

"How does that help him stay capable of being part of Rune's life?" Derek asked, pulling her onto the bed and fastening the strap himself.

"I talked to his sponsor." Chance admitted, flexing her toes to find the most comfortable part of the strappy sandals. "He told me about Maeve, and he warned me that if Spencer caught even a hint that I might be interested in rekindling a relationship, the confusion over that and the guilt over Maeve could turn him back to Dilaudid. I can't be responsible for that, and I can't risk my daughter missing out on her father when she's so close to starting a relationship with him." She jumped to her feet, twirling around to give him the complete picture. "So, Mike gets a chance, I get to try to crush that little hope into oblivion, and Spencer stays clean. Everyone wins. Now, how do I look?"

"Like you're about to go get a root canal instead of out on a date." He laughed, pulling her forward until she stood between his knees. "It doesn't seem like you win in this scenario. You're losing a dream, not gaining one."

"My daughter wins, therefore I win." Chance said simply, dropping a kiss on top of his head. The doorbell rang downstairs. "That's probably Mike. Be serious this time. Do I look okay?"

"You look gorgeous, little bit." He said honestly. Carefully, he stood, tucking her hand around his elbow. "Have your purse?" She held up the small white clutch she'd packed earlier. "Cellphone, mace, and condoms?"

"No condoms. The days of putting out on the first date are behind me."

"Good girl. Pocket tazer?"

"Check."

"Lipstick?"

"Both applied and packed for when I need to refresh."

"I have taught you well." He led her downstairs. "Are you going to try to have fun tonight?"

Chance gave a wry smile. "It kind of defeats the purpose if I don't."

Derek rolled his eyes, pulling open the door. Instead of Mike, a cringing and repentant Spencer stood on the doorstep. "Pretty boy! I thought you had some sort of lecture tonight!"

"I lied. I thought you had an evening planned with Savannah." Spencer stepped around them into the entryway. "And I thought you said your date was with someone named Mike, Chancellor."

"It is. Derek was helping me get ready."

"And now Derek is going into the kitchen to make himself a snack since he's staying over tonight to watch horrid horror movies with Chance when she gets home. Something Savannah knows about and approves of since she was called in to work, I might add." The older profiler waved, sneaking off and deftly avoiding the grasping way Chance tried to keep him planted to act as a buffer.

Spencer watched the motion with the sort of resigned acceptance one sees in death row inmates. "Back to not wanting to be alone with me?"

"It never really went away." She admitted, wrapping her arms across her stomach protectively. "I'm just better at controlling it when I have no other choice."

"Would it help if I apologized?"

"You accused me of being an irresponsible parent because I decided to go on a date while my daughter is away at summer camp. You insinuated I'd let an unknown person around my child mere moments after suggesting that you move into my house to better parent a child you have yet to meet. Why should an apology help?"

"Because I'm willing to admit that I made a mistake and that I was in the wrong?"

Chance deflated, leaning against the wall. It would do no good to hang onto her anger, no matter how justified. She had to find a way to meet him on middle ground. "We've got to stop doing this, Spencer. We were good. We were friendly. We were working together to introduce you into Rune's life with the least amount of drama possible. We were being responsible. Then one little thing snapped and were coming at each other like cougars again."

"I shouldn't have said that I had a problem with you dating. There was no logical reason for me to assume that you would put our child in danger." Spencer stepped forward, awkwardly cupping her shoulders between his palms. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are. Now apologize." She joked lamely. The doorbell rang and she grimaced. "I'm sorry. That probably is Mike. I've got to go. Umm…" She looked around awkwardly, trying to find a good way to extricate herself. "Tell you what, why don't you stick around. You and Derek can start the movie marathon without me, and I'll join in when I get back."

"I really don't think-"

"Please, Spence." She paused, her back to the door. "We need to finish this, but I don't have time right now. Stay, and we'll work this out later, I promise." She pulled the door open, slipping out. "There's sandwich stuff in the kitchen and I have some leftover lasagna in the fridge. Help yourself."

The door closed before he could decline, leaving him to stare as she descended the steps with a tall blond he assumed was Mike.

Derek chuckled from behind him. "You forgot how fast she was, huh?" He asked from around a mouthful of sandwich. "Got to remember how to be faster, pretty boy." He jerked his head toward the kitchen. "Come on. I'll make you something to eat and you can show me some of those scrapbooks you've been crowing about."

* * *

Penny crashed into the house like a boulder, dropping her purse by the door and heading straight for the living room. "Where are my boys? As godmother, I claim right to join in on the scrapbook fun!"

"Chance made you godmother?" Spencer asked, glancing up from the photos.

"Not yet, but you said she hadn't filled the position, so I'm nominating Derek and I." She shouldered in between them. "Oh my goodness! Rune was such a gorgeous baby! Look at those big eyes! And she had the most adorable little curls!"

"Come in the kitchen." Derek interrupted, standing and pulling Penny after him. "Why don't you set up one of those home movies, pretty boy? We'll be right back. I'm going to get Penelope to start on those cupcakes Chance likes."

"I didn't bring anything to make the cupcakes with!" Garcia protested as Derek dragged her around to the other side of the pantry.

"I don't care about the cupcakes." He hissed on a whisper. "They have bigger problems."

"What problems?"

"Problems that are gonna chew them up and spit them out if we don't find a way to intervene."

"What problems, Derek?"

"You already know about Spencer's little mistake last night." Penny nodded. "Well, it gets better. The only reason Chance is going on this date is because she thinks by never letting him know that some part of her hopes they'll get back together, it'll keep him from using again."

"But that-"

"I know." He held his hands up, stopping her. "She gave a load of bull that had to do with guilt, confusion, Maeve's death, and Spencer's sponsor, but it boiled down to the same old crap that always gets them into trouble. She's trying to do what's right and doing the exact opposite, and he doesn't know how to analyze and communicate what he's feeling."

"What do we do?" Garcia asked, wringing her hands.

"I don't know, baby girl." Derek sighed, resting his forehead against the wall. "All I know is I've got a prickle at the base of my spine telling me that trouble is coming, and it's got something to do with those two."

"I could call Gideon again."

"Gideon will just tell us to stay out of it." He shook his head, pushing back from the wall. "The problem is, he's not here. He doesn't see it. We do and we have to find a way to help without helping, if that makes any sense."

"Lead them to the answers instead of giving them the answers." Penelope nodded, tapping her foot. "OK. I'll work on Spencer. You work on Chance. Maybe if we talk nonsense long enough, something that comes out of our mouth will make sense and we can stop the trouble before it arrives."

Derek laughed, pulling her in for a hug and tucking her head under his chin. "What are the chances of that actually happening?"

"About the same as the chances of a red shirt surviving a Star Trek battle."

"That bad?"

"Worse."

"Wonderful."

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_**Please read and review.**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Natalie:**__**Thank you! Sorry it took so long. I've been out of the country for school and it's been difficult to find the time to write.**_

_**LeedsUK:**__** Thanks! They're going to try, but they have bigger problems right now.**_

_**bridgetlynn:**__** Thank you for the reviews. I hated the Maeve storyline, but not because of the phone call thing. My irritation was because it seems like what the writers have done, with everyone except Hotch, is create a replica of the character of the opposite gender and pair them up. I get that some couples are actually like that, but I've never seen a couple that makes it long term that are that similar. And, ok, yeah, the phone call thing was a little far-fetched. Ok, a lot far-fetched. Spencer just seems too cautious for something like that. I'm sorry about your background. I know the feeling. My father was an alcoholic until I hit the third grade. My mom finally put her foot down and told him he either got sober or we left. To his credit, he sobered up. That rubber cookie story? Yeah, that's actually something I did. Not one of my proudest moments, but it makes for a good anecdote. Lol. Thanks for sticking through even though it was 4 a.m. It wasn't so much rambling as venting, which I completely understand. The whole Maeve storyline was terrible. I kind of get why they did it. Everyone else had their romantic side-story. They wanted Reid to have his. I just think they could have handled it better. Plus, yeah, the grieving is definitely for what might have been, and maybe PTSD for seeing someone he cared about shot, but not because what he had with Maeve was anything like Hotch and Hailey (I gagged too, don't worry.). One of the reasons Morgan and Garcia are my favorite characters is because, even though they seem more dramatic than the rest, they approach things more practically. I think, out of the entire team, they'd be the ones least likely to overreact about Spencer finding someone new. Thank you again for the review. I really appreciated it. **_

_**Guest:**__** I'm sorry. The only time I could remember Spencer and NA being mentioned together was when he was given that coin just before a case. I remembered it was either the director or the assistant director of the FBI and, when I looked up his name online, the only on I could find was from Suspect Behavior and his name was Jack. So I went with it.**_

_**jayjrat:**__** Sorry about the delay. I've been out of the country and wasn't able to carve out a lot of time to write.**_

_**Yuuki no Yuki:**__** You clever cookie, you! You found the loophole! And that was probably my favorite part from the entire chapter. All forms of Star Trek, even the new ones, hold a special place in my heart and any time I get to slip in a little reference, it makes me irrationally happy.**_

_**ghostlylove:**__** I'm sorry about Clueless. It's a slow and steady progress. I'm rewriting it because, unlike my other stories, I just wanted it to be something lighthearted and fun. No drama. No angst. Just a lot of silliness revolving around Bruce and Bailey being entirely clueless. By the time I got close to the ending, I hated what I'd wrote and just had to redo it. I do have a type. Mostly it's because the wittier they are, the more fun they are to write, but also because the less traditionally handsome characters are seriously under represented. Just as a warning on the Sherlock story, while Lestrade and Rose are the paired characters, there's not a whole lot of them in there. It ended up being more about Rose and her growing relationship with the other characters of the show, especially Mycroft and Sherlock. Thank you for the review, and I'm ecstatic that you found me over here. I've missed some of my regular readers since I took down Clueless.**_

* * *

Chance laughed as Mike led her up the stairs to her front door. By all accounts, it should have been a perfect night. He'd taken her to something called a gastropub, regaled her with stories about his obscenely large family, and they even managed to hold an interesting debate about consensual polygamy. Still, she couldn't shake this tingle at the base of her spine that something was off about him.

"Are you sure you don't want to drag this out a little longer?" Mike begged, stopping her on the top step. "Or maybe I can come inside."

"I don't think so. A couple friends wanted to do a horror movie night and they're waiting for me."

"Fine." He sighed heavily. "So, did I win a second date?" Mike asked playfully. With him standing a step below her, she could actually look him in the eye without tilting her head back.

Chance smiled warmly, "accidently" pressing her elbow into the doorbell. She could already hear Derek's boots thumping toward the door. "I think I'm going to have to get you to call me in order to answer that." She said, feigning regret. "My chaperone is coming, and he doesn't like being reminded that I'm a grown woman."

"Are you ready for movie night, Chance?" Derek asked, poking his head around the door. He briefly flicked his eyes toward Mike, giving the man a slight nod as acknowledgement. "Spencer won't let me put in _The Visitation_ until you get settled and Garcia has a surprise for you."

"Right." Chance gave another regretful smile to Mike. "I'm sorry. I need to go in." She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you. Tonight was a blast. Be safe going home."

"I can't come in and join you?" Mike asked, giving her a staring at her with a set of puppy dog eyes that might have actually worked if she hadn't become immune to them years ago. Rune tried that trick one too many times. Besides, she was starting to get dizzy and nauseous. She really just wanted to get out of the dress and relax in her baggy flannel pajamas and fuzzy slippers.

Fortunately, Derek saved her. Roughly, he pulled her through the half-open door, tucking her behind him. "Sorry. This is an exclusive night. Only people who have seen her naked are allowed." He slammed the door in Mike's face, and, holding Chance by the elbow, led her toward the stairs. She managed a wave to a confused Penny and Spencer as he pushed her past the living room. "You are not seeing him again."

"Did I miss the part where you became my father?" She asked, tripping up the steps.

"Did you forget the part where I'm a profiler?" Derek asked, tugging her into her bedroom and closing the door behind them. "Something is wrong with him. Something in his body language. I can't place it, but I know it's wrong. You're going to get hurt if you go out with him again, and you know it."

"Yeah. I do know it. Which was why I pushed the doorbell. It was an easy escape from a complicated situation and it alerted you to the fact that I was home." She stepped into the closet to kick off the shoes and the dress, wriggling out from her uncomfortable underwear while she was at it. "Will you pass me my night clothes? They're under my pillow. I have no intention of going out with Mike on a second date, by the way. I shouldn't have gone out on this one. I should have joined an online dating service or something. Still, that's in the past, and it doesn't give you the right to try to dictate who I do and don't see." She took the pajamas and quickly slipped them on. Stepping out of the closet, she moved over to the vanity and pulled out her make-up remover. "I appreciate that you're concerned for me, but that sort of high-handed maneuver will only make me want to do the opposite of what you're telling me."

"Jesus. How much did you drink, Chance?" Penny asked from the doorway.

Chance twisted on the seat, swaying dizzily. "An Irish coffee after dinner. Why?"

"You're slurring your words."

"No I'm not."

Derek squatted in front of her. "Yes, you are. Your eyes are dilated too, and you're sweating. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two." Chance wrinkled her brow. "What do you think is wrong, Derek?"

"Baby girl, get Spencer up here." He pushed her hair back, taking her pulse. "How's your breathing?"

"A little labored, but you did just drag me up the stairs in heels."

"What happened?" Spencer crashed into the room.

"I think she's been drugged." Derek said , stepping out of the way. "She's slurring her speech, swaying, sweating, and her eyes look like flying saucers."

"Chance. Look at me." Spencer said gently, cupping her cheek in his palm. The whole thing felt like a bad dream. Even the edges of her vision was starting to get fuzzy. "Are you nauseated? Do you feel abnormally tired?"

"What do you think I've been drugged with?"

"I'm sorry, Chance. I didn't understand you." He stood, looping her arm over his shoulders. "Penny, get your car. Derek, help me get her down the stairs. We need to get her to a hospital and get her tested before it works its way out of her system. Come on, Chance." Spencer's hand molded itself to her hip and kept her tight against him. "I've got you. Just follow me. I've got you."

Chance nodded, stumbling along next to him. She didn't seem to be in control of her legs. She didn't seem to be in control of anything. All she could do was struggle to keep up. "I've got you." Spencer kept repeating, even as he lowered her into the car and buckled her in. "Don't worry, Chance. I've got you."

The world started to look blurry. Chance wasn't sure if it was because of the drug or because of how fast Garcia was speeding down the road. Groggily, she groped for her purse. They'd need her insurance information at the hospital. It wasn't next to her. That was odd. She always remembered her purse. It was a sacred rule after she'd lost her wallet freshman year at Georgetown and had her identity stolen.

Spencer stopped her hands, turning in the seat to check her eyes and pulse. "Your heart is racing. You need to try to control it, Chance. I know this is hard, but focus. Concentrate on your heartbeat. Try to slow it down. Garcia, go faster."

"I'm already pushing 85, Spencer." Penny called from the front seat.

"Put on your hazards, baby girl, and make this thing go as fast as it possibly can." Derek ordered, looking at them from the rearview mirror.

Chance tried to tell them she was fine, but her words were cut off with a violent shiver. It felt like someone had suddenly plunged her in ice water. Desperately, she wriggled out of her seat belt and curled as close to Spencer as she could, seeking warmth.

"Her fever is spiking." Reid announced. "How far are we from the hospital?"

"Just a few miles."

"Call ahead. Tell them we have a possible GHB overdose and we need staff waiting for us. Go directly to the ambulance bay. I don't want to argue with the triage nurse."

"Shouldn't this have hit her sooner?" Derek asked, already dialing.

Spencer shook his head, trying to comfort Chance while simultaneously pushing her off. The more heat she was introduced to, the higher the possibility of lasting damage. "Chance has an odd resistance to drugs of any kind. They take longer to take effect. When she split open her cheek, they had to give her double the normal dosage for someone of her size in order to get the lidocaine to work so they could stitch her up. More than likely, he added a single dosage to her original drink, and, when she wasn't showing any signs of intoxication by the end of dinner, he added a second dose to her coffee. Thus the overdose."

"I'll call Hotch as soon as we get her settled and send out and BOLO on her date." Derek announced grimly as Penny sped through the hospital parking lot. "What are her chances of remembering anything from tonight?"

"We won't know. Everyone reacts differently to GHB. She hasn't started thrashing or trying to hurt herself, which is a good sign, but it's still early." Penny pulled into the ambulance bay. The nurses didn't miss a beat. They already had her out of the car and onto a stretcher by the time Spencer unbuckled his seat belt.

Chance started screaming and thrashing the second someone unknown touched her. Derek managed to get to her first, snapping his fingers in front of her eyes to grab her attention. It was a miracle she could hear him our the cacophony of sirens and machines surrounding the entrance. A doctor shouted something to a nurse and someone stabbed a needle of what Spencer could only assume was thorazine in her hip. Penny grimaced as he finally managed to tumble out of the car.

"I'm going to go find a place to park. Message me her room number, and tell them I need access to at least two three-pronged plugs." She shouted out the window. Spencer waved behind him, acknowledging that he'd heard while he ran after Chance.

* * *

"What are the doctor's saying?" Derek asked, collapsing into the chair next to Spencer.

Chance was wrapped up in bed, sound asleep. An IV of saline and sedative was hooked into her arm and bandages dotted her arm from where they'd tried to stick her to obtain blood samples. Apparently, Chance's veins didn't like needles. They shrank and rolled every time they tried to start a line. They eventually had to get a NICU nurse to come in and get her hooked up.

"Her fever is lower and the saline is helping to flush her system." Spencer replied wearily, slowly scrawling through her admittance paperwork. Both Gideon and Chance's brother, Cory, had been called, but it would take hours for them to fly in. Her friend Bryan was her medical proxy, but the man couldn't be found. "Did you find her insurance information?"

"Garcia managed to get into her records to find it." He handed Spencer a print-out. "I tried finding her purse at home. It seems to be missing, along with her cell phone."

"Do you know if she brought it in with her?"

Derek shook his head. "I was more concerned with getting her away from Rawlins."

"Where are we on him?"

"Nowhere." Derek rubbed his hand over his head. "It's his real name. He actually is a lobbyist. He didn't lie to Chancellor about any of it. His record is squeaky clean. His last parking ticket was when her was sixteen. We've got LEO's at his house and office and every cop in three counties is on the look-out for his car, but he's dropped off the grid. Do you think she told him we were FBI?"

Spencer shook his head. "I doubt it. Gideon taught her a long time ago that she wasn't supposed to make it common knowledge, just in case any of us ever have to go undercover. Even my sponsor said that she checked who he was before she openly talked to him about me."

"Hotch and Rossi and are trying to profile him. Nothing makes sense. There doesn't seem to be any reason for him to drug her."

"Did Cruz give us clearance to go after him?"

"JJ is working on that. You take care of Chance, let us worry about the rest." Derek leaned his head back. "Let's just hope that she remembers something when she wakes up."

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_**Please read and review.**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Kizu Mizu: **__**They might have it. They might not. For right now, I'm just focusing on the Rune and Reid build-up. I am working on a sequel, and I'll focus on where they end up there. Thank you so much for the review. I hope the rest of the story doesn't disappoint.**_

_**LeedsUK: **__**Thank you! One new chapter, coming your way. **_

_**Areylia:**__** Hehehe. I have to have a little fun myself. Besides, the wording of this chapter was delicate. I needed to take some extra time to get it just right. Thank you for the review!**_

_**Natalie:**__** Bad news doesn't begin to cover it. It's going to be worse. Not in this chapter, but soon. *evil grin* As always, thank you for the review. I appreciate every single one.**_

_**ripon:**__** Some of them are right. Some are a bit off. Having a nurse for a mother makes it very difficult to intentionally put incorrect medical information down. I can practically hear her screeching in my head that such-and-such isn't right. Lol. Thank you for the review. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.**_

* * *

Chance groaned, struggling into consciousness with a pounding headache. Weakly, she curled into the fetal position, praying she go back to sleep and miss out on this week's migraine.

"Is she awake? Or is she just shifting again?"

She scowled, tempted to pull the pillow over her ears. It was impossible not to recognize Cory's low drawl. Even when he tried to be quiet, his voice boomed across rooms, entire houses, and fields. When Chance was 12 and he'd married his now ex-wife, nights in the Becker house involved the frequent use of ear plugs, both for the sake of her sanity and her dinner.

"She's awake, but she's trying to go back to sleep. Hush, Cory."

A soft smile to match the equally soft voice spread across her face. She knew that voice too. That was the sound of a voice that swore he'd never step foot in D.C. again. Then again, she swore the same thing and now she lived here. Still, something bad had to have happened if Uncle Jason cut his trip to Alaska short. Since she was the one with the bare back barely covered by a thin blanket and a persistent tug at her inner elbow telling her she was probably crushing an IV, she could only assume that whatever bad thing happened, happened to her.

Chance wasn't ready to deal with that. She didn't want something bad to happen to her. She didn't want to have been in a car accident or been mugged or whatever happened to land her in the hospital. She wanted to sleep, the long peaceful sleep of the drugged, and, hopefully, when she woke up, this would all be a bad dream. Uncle Jason would still be in Alaska. Cory would still be in Biloxi. She would wake up, safe and warm, in her own bed. Everything would be copacetic.

Cool hands framed her face, too thin and long to belong to either her brother or her uncle. "Chancellor? I need you to open your eyes for me. I know you're probably hurting, but the nurse is ready with some ibuprofen and I need to talk to you."

She wanted to be stubborn. She wanted to hunker down under her blankets and drift back to the Land of Zzz's, but his voice wouldn't let her. It wasn't the words so much as the tone. On the surface is was placating and calm, but she knew him. She could hear the slight upward pitch when he asked her to open her eyes. He was scared. Mentally sighing, she forced herself to joke. "Five more minutes, Mom?"

The _whoosh_ of relieved sighs exploding from the room made her pop her eyes open and awkwardly shift around. Cory and Uncle Jason sat on one side of her bed, somehow managing to look at her as if it were a miracle she was alive while simultaneously glaring Spencer to death for the simple crime of existing. Spencer sat on her other side, studiously ignoring the burn-and-die looks sent by her family and carding his fingers through her hair. "Good morning." He whispered softly, hazel eyes relaxing, even though the worry lines still created crow's feet. "Sleep well?"

"Morphine may have one heck of a kick, but it's a great tranquilizer."

"That may have more to do with the Thorazine and overdose than the sedative."

Chance stilled. She been tilting her head against his palm, relishing in his cool touch. Jaw tight, she pulled away. "Overdose?"

Spencer grimaced, looking over toward Cory and Gideon. "Could we have a minute alone? I need to question her and-"

"They're not going anywhere." She interrupted, gripping Cory's hand where it rested near her hip. "What do you mean by overdose? What happened to me?"

Spencer sighed, looking over at the way Cory and Gideon braced themselves in their chairs, practically daring him to try to remove them. It would be a whole lot of drama that would only make things worse on Chance. "Chancellor, what is the last thing you remember?"

"Work." She answered promptly, then shook her head. "No. That's not right." Flashes of Derek on her bed and Spencer in her entryway. "My date. I was just about to leave. You came over to apologize, I think." She couldn't quite remember, everything seemed fuzzy. "I can't remember the words. Just feeling angry and resigned."

"What else?"

She closed her eyes, trying to remember. Frustrated, she shook her head. "Nothing."

"Ok, Chancellor, I'm going to take you through what's called a cognitive interview and-"

"Stop it, Spencer!" Chance snapped, popping her eyes open to look at him. "Stop treating me like I'm some random victim and you're just the agent unlucky enough to have been sent to deal with me. Stop calling me Chancellor. You only do that when you're angry. And stop explaining everything to me like I'm some novice who didn't grow up with the man that invented some of these techniques!" She pointedly jerked her thumb toward Uncle Jason. "Stop being a profiler and tell me what the hell you think happened to me."

"It's not what I think happened to you." He murmured under his breath. "It's what did happen to you."

"Then what did happen to me?" Chance asked, exasperated.

"You were drugged!" He growled. "GHB. Not a lethal dose, but pretty damn close. Probably because of your odd resistance to drugs. It saved you and could have killed you."

She sucked in a deep breath, close to breaking Cory's fingers. "What do you mean?"

"You know the main use of GHB?" She nodded shakily, not wanting to vocalize the word. "It could have happened to you. It would have happened to you if it hadn't been for your body holding off until you came home. Fortunately, it did, but it was close. But, on the flip side, it looks like he double dosed you because you weren't responding quickly enough."

"He kept trying to get me to stay out with him." Chance remembered with a flash. They were in his car, and he kept suggesting they go out for dessert. "And he stalled getting me home. Five miles under the speed limit, stopping for gas, the whole nine yards."

"He was probably hoping for a late-hour kick-off." Cory growled under his breath.

Spencer nodded, bile creeping up his esophagus. He'd been struggling not to think what Rawlins would have done if Chance hadn't managed to get inside. He, Morgan, and Garcia had been engrossed in watching Rune's graduation from kindergarten. It had been the first time he'd heard his little girl's voice. He hated to be so sentimental, but she sounded like a cherub, innocent and happy, as she thanked her teachers and proudly held hands with a young boy who blushed and stuttered his way through his own thanks.

He'd assumed that she was like him. It's what Chance always said, the way she described their daughter. Intelligent, imaginative, reserved. She'd jokingly described Rune as Spencer's mini-me. He saw something different in that video. He saw Chance in the way Rune had coddled that boy, standing by his side to give him strength and hugging him tightly while he shook afterwards. He saw it in the confident tilt of her head while she delivered her speech. He saw it in the ways her eyes lit up, silently laughing as the teacher described attempting to teach the class basic addition and how some students edged their way around the common core method to use a simpler equation. Rune may have some of his personality quirks, but she was Chance's daughter. She'd gotten the best parts of both of them.

If Chance hadn't managed to ring that doorbell, none of them would have realized she was home. The sight of his daughter and the sound of her voice had blocked them from hearing anything else, even the conversation outside. He cursed himself. If she hadn't managed to ring the doorbell, if the drug had hit her even two minutes earlier, he could have lost her. The thought seemed to tear a hole in him even bigger than the one Maeve left.

"Cory. Gideon. I'm sorry, but I need you to leave." Spencer ground out. He couldn't do this with them there. He had to take Chance through a cognitive interview, and he had to keep himself in check for whatever he may hear. With Gideon in the room, a man who knew him as well as he knew himself, he'd never be able to get away with it.

Gideon looked him over, his sharp eyes taking in the clench of his jaw and the way his hands were balled into fists on top of the bed spread. Chance didn't miss it either. "Go ahead, guys." She said softly, eyes trained on Spencer. Distractedly, she blew them both a kiss. "I can handle this."

Cory and Gideon exchanged worried looks. They knew those actions. They recognized those actions. Grimacing, Gideon gave Cory a reluctant nod, and the two men kissed Chance's temple quickly and left the room.

"I need to do the cognitive interview, Chance." Spencer warned apologetically.

She nodded shakily. He hated seeing that fear on her face. Chancellor wasn't supposed to be afraid. Not like this. She was supposed to be strong. She was supposed to lift her chin and give a haughty glare and tell him to get on with it. She was supposed to crack a joke and pretend it was no big deal. She shouldn't be shivering. Gently, he cupped her face between his palms, leaning his forehead against hers. "Can you do this?"

She nodded. Bringing a hand up to cover his, she fought to hide a smile. When in doubt, make Spencer protective. It drives out everything. Anger, fear, distraction, and focuses all his attention on the task at hand.

He exhaled, unsteady and unsure of his skills for the first time in his life. "Close your eyes."

"They are closed, Spencer."

He chuckled, grateful to hear that spark of strength back in her voice. "Ok. Think back. We were in the hall."

Chance let herself fall back, carefully constructing her front hall in her mind. It was difficult to push through the haze surrounding everything. Spencer stood across from her, nervous and apologetic. She could feel her heart racing again. She didn't want to go on the date, but Jack's words were ringing in her ears. The doorbell rang, and she could see Mike's silhouette through the glass. She asked Spencer to stay. She didn't want to leave things like this. Instead of giving him a chance to say no, she rushed out, forcing a smile. Mike had laughed, wrapping her hand around his arm and leading her down the steps to the sedan waiting on the street.

She teasingly berated him for the singing candy gram and all the flowers. He asked her what her favorite flower was so that he wouldn't have to guess anymore. She blushingly admitted that it was yellow and pink dahlias. He pulled one out from behind his seat, tucking it behind her ear. He'd called her boss to get information on her likes and dislikes, and her boss redirected him to Bryan who told him all he needed to know.

After that, he turned on the radio, tuning his phone to play Styx's _Renegade_. She'd laughed. It was her favorite song to be dance around and be silly with. Unable to stop herself, she'd started wriggling around and singing badly. After the song died down, she explained that she and her brother had often danced around the kitchen to that song while they were cooking, singing into the wooden spoons and sliding across the floor in air guitar solos.

They went on to discuss their families, and, by the time they'd reached the restaurant, he had her in stitched with tales of the pranks that he and his six older brothers had played on their one younger sister. She'd loved the restaurant. It was quiet and cozy, and offered traditional bar fare with a twist. He'd tried to order her a Rusty Nail, her favorite cocktail, but she'd been drinking too frequently lately. She didn't want to end up like her brother and end up turning to a bottle at every available opportunity. She'd ordered a coke instead. After the meal, she'd agreed to an Irish coffee, simply because they had a craft version that included peppermint.

He'd tried to include a dessert, but she was anxious to get home. She was having fun, but the thought of Spencer and Derek waiting for her at the house made her homesick. She to get back to horror movies and popcorn. Finally, after he took an hour to finish his coffee, they'd left. He stopped for gas, tried to stop at an ice cream parlor they passed, and then intentionally stuck them at every red light between the restaurant and her house. She'd started to feel dizzy and nauseous about half-way home. By the time they'd reached the house, exhaustion was dragging at her. When he'd asked about the second date, that feeling of unease that tickled her spine from the first moment she met him flared to life and, out of panic, she'd hit the doorbell.

"Did you ever leave the table?" He asked. He hadn't known she liked dahlias. He'd bought her roses once and sent them to her dorm. She'd teased him for being clichéd, but she'd worn one of the fresh roses in her bun for the next week.

"Twice. Once to take a call from Rune's camp. She was feeling homesick and wanted to talk to me. Then again to use the restroom."

"Did your drink taste differently when you came back?"

"I hate Coca-Cola, but they didn't have Dr. Pepper, so I don't know. The coffee was so sweet that I couldn't taste anything over the sugar."

"Did you tell him we were FBI?"

She quickly shook her head. "I didn't even mention you until I got home. Even then, I only said I had friends waiting. I know better than to broadcast your profession."

"Did he mention where he might go if he wanted to hide. A vacation home or a cabin? Maybe a family member he was close with?"

"He has a huge family. They all live in Northern Virginia. There are a dozen places he could be."

"Think, Chance." Spencer said softly, still holding her face between his palms. "Was there one in particular he would have turned to?"

She focused, replaying every word in her head. He'd told her about so many people. Including himself, his parents had eight children. Then there were aunts, uncles, cousins, and, since his family had the odd habit of swallowing up the in-laws as well as the new spouse when one of the tribe married, there were multiple sets of grandparents. "I can't think of one."

Spencer nodded, sighing heavily. Without thinking, he pressed a warm kiss to her forehead and pulled away. "I'll go get your brother and uncle." He murmured, already feeling around in his pocket for his phone. He needed to call the team and give let them know she was awake and what she said. JJ had successfully beat Cruz into submission regarding them taking this on as a case. Garcia was currently delving into Rawlins' background and everyone except Hotch was running around talking to everyone even remotely connected to the man, including everyone he's been on date with in the last two years. So far, none had showed signs of being drugged.

"Spencer." She called, stopping him before he left the room. "I know it was a reflex but," she sucked in a shuddering breath, straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin, "but you can't kiss me anymore. Not even on the head. It's not good for either of us."

His mouth tightened. Some part of him understood what she was saying. Even though the worst didn't happen, it could have, and she had to be traumatized by it. Still, he felt like a child whose favourite toy had been taken away. He hadn't meant to kiss her. It was an automatic reaction from years ago, but it felt right. More things felt right with Chance back in his life. He'd been in a tailspin since Maeve died, and his world was finally righting itself again. Now it felt like she was trying to send him spinning again. "I'll go get your family."

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_**Please read and review.**_


	14. Chapter 14

"Ok. They said we have to take it easy on your stomach, so I have some of my world famous chicken broth and your favorite lemon jello in fun little bite-size pieces, courtesy of the ice cube tray." Cory settled the tray across her lap, ignoring the squinty-eyed glare he received from someone Chance had less-than-affectionately nicknamed Nurse Ratchet. "I have your hippie jeans and a t-shirt in the bag for when you're released, as well as three, easy to remove, nightgowns in styles that very from "granny" to "nun." Oh!" He smiled happily, pulling out a trashy romance novel. "I found this in the gift shop. Something besides the TV to keep you occupied."

Chance shook her head, setting the book on the side table. Cory had a twisted sense of humor. She wasn't adverse to romance novels, but she'd rather let them try to take blood again than read anything involving vampires as misunderstood rogues. "Thanks, Cory. Where's Uncle Jason?"

"Sleeping at your place. He doesn't hold up to flying as well as he used to." He settled himself on the side of her bed. "He also didn't think he should get involved with what we're about to talk about."

She rolled her eyes, pouring the chicken broth into a cup to sip. "Spencer knows about Rune. We've created our own system for integrating him into her life. We are not back together, nor do we plan to go down that road. If we were, I wouldn't be here now. Does that about cover all you questions, dear brother?"

"No. I already knew all that. I'm more concerned with what's happening that you're not planning."

"How did you-?" She shook her head. "Never mind. What do you mean?"

"I mean, I saw you and him earlier. It reminded me of when he dropped the turkey." Cory sighed heavily. "Do you remember? I went too far. Teased him too much. He was trying to keep from yelling at me and stay in control, but it was a struggle. You zeroed in on him, little sister. Uncle Jason and I watched you on the front porch. You focused completely on him and bent over backwards to make him feel better. Earlier, when you needed us here, and don't deny you did, you still bent over backwards because you knew he didn't want to appear weak." He reached out, pushing her bangs off her forehead. "That scares me. It scares Uncle Jason. You thought you were hiding it, but we saw. You were broken and damaged and it took you years to even go on a date again. You still haven't had another serious relationship. We don't want you to fall into that pit again."

"I'm not falling into anything." Chance assured him. "He has his own demons. Right now, we're just trying to find a stable middle ground so we can both be good parents to Rune. That's it. Speaking of which, do you have my phone? She's supposed to be home in a few days and, since they're dragging their feet on letting me out of here, I want to be sure she knows that you or Uncle Jason might have to pick her up."

Cory watched her carefully. The tips of her ears were stained red. He fought back another sigh. She was lying. He hated when she lied, because she was stubborn as a mule. She'd stick with the story she just gave him until she'd already fallen off the cliff. "I couldn't find it. Do you think maybe Spencer or Derek have it?"

Frowning, she shook her head. "I don't think so. They would have left it here. Penny doesn't need it to be physically present to access it." She picked up the phone in her room, hitting the proper combination of numbers to dial out. "Let me check."

Derek's voice was sharp when he picked up. "What's wrong, little bit?"

"Nothing. Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you at work."

"It's fine. It's your case anyway. Did you remember something that might help?"

"No. But I need to know if you have my phone. Rune will be home soon and if they haven't released me by then, then I need to let her know that my brother or Uncle Jason will be picking her up."

"I wasn't able to find your phone, Chance. Your purse, either."

"They should have been in my room. If not on my dresser, then in my closet."

"Little bit, I dug through that whole room trying to find your insurance information. Your purse and your phone were nowhere in there."

Chance's heart stopped in her chest. The last letter she'd received from Rune was in that purse. She hadn't even had an opportunity to read it yet. She'd been running late when she got home from work and shoved it in her clutch, intending to read it later. It had all of Rune's information on it. Down to her cabin and bed number. "Derek. You have to go to my house. It has to be there somewhere. Maybe I dropped it in the front hall or-"

"What's wrong, little bit? If you left it in his car, that might be a good thing. Garcia can put a trace on your cards and try to turn on the GPS on your phone."

"Derek. Go to my house and find my purse. It had to be there. It cannot be in his car."

"Why?"

"Because if it is, then he practically has a roadmap to my daughter."

Derek sucked in a breath. "Call her camp. I'll go to the house and give Garcia a heads up."

"Tell Spencer too. He deserves to know. And Uncle Jason is at the house. I'll let him know you're coming." She hung up, sending a panicked glance at Cory. He motioned for her to dial. Ignoring Nurse Ratchet and her insistent prodding at the IV, Chance punched in the number for the camp, impatiently counting the rings before it was answered. "Susan. This is Chancellor Becker. I was calling to check on my daughter."

"I assume she's fine, ma'am."

Chance's voice edged up a notch. "You assume?"

"Your secondary contact, Bryan Williams, picked her up this morning. Something about you having been in an accident?"

Her heart started pounding. She could hear the monitors start to blare as she devolved into palpitations. "What did he look like?"

"Who?"

"The man who picked her up."

"Tall. Blond. Blue eyes. We checked his ID. It was Bryan Williams."

"Bryan Williams is a short, slight, brunette with brown eyes." Cory blocked the doorway, assuring the incoming rush of nurses that she was fine while she batted off Nurse Ratchet. "You gave my daughter to the man who drugged me."

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	15. Chapter 15

Spencer slammed the door to the bathroom and locked it behind him. Bending over at the waist, he sucked in deep, heaving breaths. Rawlins had his daughter. Rune was in the hands of someone they couldn't figure out. They'd been over every scrap of evidence. Every family member, all 96 of them, had been interviewed. Every friend and co-worker had been pumped for information. Every woman he'd so much as smiled at over the past decade had been questioned. Nothing made sense.

Everything about Chance broke pattern. His family had been hearing about her since the day after the charity banquet, before she ever accepted the offer of a date. With anyone else, he didn't mention them until after the third date. He'd never tried so hard to gain a woman's attention. Many of his co-workers described him as using the Jerk Method to attract women, not over-the-top displays such as the 27 bouquets and candy gram he'd ordered for Chance. As for the drugging, not a single woman they'd talked to showed any signs have ever being dosed with GHB. The more forward ones even admitted to how quickly they were willing to go to bed with him. Something about Chance twisted his entire pathology, and they couldn't figure out what it was.

Now he had Rune. He had Rune and they had no idea where to look. It felt like Maeve all over again. He was going to lose another person he loved before he ever had the chance to meet her.

* * *

"Chance. I really think you should be back in the hospital. The doctor-"

"The doctor can sit on the sharp end of a stick of rotate!" Chance shouted, rounding on her brother. The entirety of the bull pen swirled to look at her and she flipped them the bird. "My daughter has been kidnapped. If you think I'm staying in the hospital, then you're out of your goddamned mind."

"Chancellor."

"You know what, Cory, if you're not going to help, then go home." She turned on her heel, marching up to the round room where the team stared down at her in a sort of cringing wonder. "I'm going to help find my daughter."

Derek met her on the stairs, cupping her under the elbow to help. She was still a bit woozy, though adrenaline allowed her to burn through the excess morphine more quickly than the hospital's weaning system would have. "You should be-"

"So help me god, Derek Morgan, if you tell me I should be in the hospital I will push you down these stairs."

"Warning noted." He said wryly, settling her into a chair.

She nodded briefly at each of the team members, eyes quickly scrolling across the information on the board. One of the benefits of hectic election campaigns was that she was adapt at taking in corkboards full of random bits of paperwork and interpreting it at breakneck pace. "Have you found Bryan?"

"We couldn't get ahold of him when you went into the hospital and no one is answering at home. Does he have a girlfriend?" Derek answered.

"Call my boss. They sometimes spend the weekend together when Bryan is between boyfriends."

Penny's eyes widened slightly, but she set to work on pulling up the congressman's private numbers. "Anything else?"

"Have you sent anyone out to the camp?"

"Rossi and Blake are on their way there." Hotch put in. "Chancellor, I realize this is your daughter, but-"

"I wouldn't finish that thought, Hotch." Derek warned, cracking a smile.

Chance ignored them, barely aware of Derek and brother behind her, each of them with a hand on her shoulder. "Where's Spencer?"

"Bathroom."

She cursed, struggling to her feet.

Cory stepped in her path. "Chance-"

"Get out of my way, Cory." Chancellor hissed. "I love you, but get out my way."

"If he's-"

"He's not. He wouldn't. But he needs help." Her eyes, snapping with fear and anger, said more than her actual words. It wasn't: _He needs help_. It was: _He needs me, and I need him. Especially now._ Resigned, Cory stepped out of her way.

* * *

Spencer jerked his head up when someone banged on the door. He was still on the verge of hyperventilating. They could find a different bathroom. He needed this one.

"Spencer Reid! I've been to four bathrooms and permanently scarred three agents by walking in on them with their willies out. Now open this door or I will find a way to break it down!"

He couldn't help himself. He smiled. Chance. Always Chance. Reaching behind him, he unlocked the door.

She stepped in slowly, deceptively calm. He didn't shrug when she relocked the door. Wordlessly, he opened his arms, letting her crash against him. Together, they sank onto the floor, and he let her sob out all the anxiety she tried so hard to push down. "I've got you, Chance. I've got you."

She nodded, gripping onto his sweater vest as she soaked it with tears. After a few minutes, she calmed herself, bringing her head up. "We need to get her. _I_ need _you_ to get her."

Spencer flinched, turning his head to the side. "I can't, Chance. If something happens to her…"

"Something will happen to her if you don't help, Spencer." She reached up, pulling him back to look down at her. "She needs you to be her father, now. She needs you to put everything aside, your feelings and your fears, and do everything in her power to get her back. Remember what I told you happened when you become a parent?"

"We cease to matter." He answered. "All that matters is their health and happiness."

Chance nodded, her bottom lip quivering. "I failed in that. I put her in harm's way and I can't fix it. You have to. You have to get back to that room and you need to find her. You need to figure out why he took her and what it would take to get her back."

"None of it makes sense, Chance. Everything that he's done since he met you is a direct departure from his usual actions."

"Then maybe the answer lies in that. Why is he different with me? What happened to make him focus on me?"

"I don't know."

She pushed herself up, pulling him off the ground with her. Hesitantly, she reached out and grasped his hand, bringing their intertwined fingers up to eye level. "Then, as her parents, we go in there and we figure it out. Together."

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	16. Chapter 16

The team had left them alone. It wasn't the brightest move on their part. Chance was a civilian and any involvement with the actual case material could wreak havoc with a court case, but, at this point, they were desperate. When Spencer ordered them out, they'd left without a fuss. The rest they'd worry about later.

"Does anything stand out to you?" Spencer asked, raking his hands through his hair. "You two both work in politics. Maybe you met before, at a dinner or rally."

"We've been over it all, Spencer." Chance said, shuffling through the papers spread out in front of them. "Every dinner, every trip, every meaningless business meeting, and every rally. We've never been at the same place at the same time before that charity dinner. Did you ever get ahold of Bryan? I know he talked to Mike, and Mike used Bryan's name to get Rune. Maybe he knows something."

Spencer jerked his head up. "How did Rawlins know Bryan was your back-up? Did you tell him?"

"Not that I remember." She frowned, laying her head on the table to go through that night again, fighting through the haze to try to remember every word they'd exchanged. "We didn't talk about Rune much. I don't like to talk about her with people I don't trust. Old habit."

"Then how did he know?" Spencer stressed the question, already connecting the dots in his mind. "Bryan held your hand in the delivery room."

Chance nodded. "He's my best friend. The first friend I made when I moved."

"He knows everything about you and Rune. He's been at every birthday and special event in her life. In some ways, he's closer to you than your own family."

She began to catch up. "He is my family. His own disowned him when he came out. It's not just birthdays and special events. It's everything. Holidays, dinner at least three times a month. We adopted each other."

"Does Bryan like that?"

"I think so."

"Would he talk about it?"

"To anyone who would listen."

"Especially someone actively attempting to impress you. That's it." Spencer began shifting through the papers again. "That's how he knew about Bryan."

"That doesn't help us find him." Chance pointed out.

Spencer ignored her, pulling the map marking any location Mike be hiding at off the corkboard. Pulling out a piece of paper, he made another mark on the map. "Bryan is missing. At this point, we either have to assume he's been murdered or abducted." Chance winced. She didn't want to believe Bryan was dead. "This all revolves around you. It has since the beginning. You said he asked for the introduction. He pursued you. He went out of his way to get you. Did you give him any reason to believe you wouldn't want to see him again?"

"Not that I remember. That night is fuzzy, Spencer. After lunch, it's like I'm looking at everything through frosted glass."

Spencer froze. Frosted glass. She had frosted glass on her front door. It didn't let you see clearly, but, if you were close enough, you could make out silhouettes. Enough for him to know that, when he picked up Chancellor for their date, she was talking to another man. Another man whom she'd left in her home. "The drugs were a reaction." He breathed. "They were supposed to be an insurance policy. He brought them, and used them, in case you decided you didn't want to see him again. He saw me through the frosted glass and assumed I was a competitor."

"Again, doesn't help us find them."

"It does, though." Spencer paced around. "What matters most to you? In the entire world, what is your first priority?"

"My daughter." She answered promptly.

"And after that?"

"My… my family." It all snapped together. "This is his second insurance policy."

He nodded, still pacing around the room. "We've been working on the assumption that Mike took her as a sort of revenge, but it's not revenge. He's gathering your family to him, drawing you to him."

"He's in the cabin."

Spencer stopped, jerking his head to look up at her. "What?"

Chance started to shiver, rubbing her arms. "This is about me. My daughter. My family. It makes sense that he'd go to a place sacred to me. I lived in a dorm the first time around. He can't go there. He doesn't know your name or our history. Bryan doesn't even have the full picture on that. That leaves out your apartment. He can't go to my house. Uncle Jason's apartment has probably been rented out again. Cory lived in a motel the few months he was here during his divorce. That only leaves the cabin. It's the only home in the area still connected to me or my family. Unless he's at Bryan's, which I doubt because Bryan lives in duplex with nosy neighbours. It has to be the cabin."

Spencer nodded. "Come on. Let's tell the team. We'll send S.W.A.T. teams and-"

"I'm going with you." She interrupted, standing up.

"I can't let you-"

"He has my daughter, Spence. Our daughter. I will not sit here and wait for you to bring her back to me. I will be waiting outside that house."

Spencer assessed her. The tilted chin. The stiff spine. If they didn't take her with them, she'd go on her own. Nodding, he grabbed her hand. "Let's go get our daughter."

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	17. Chapter 17

They sent teams to the Bryan's house as well as the cabin, just to be safe. The news has already came back on the duplex. Empty, but there had been a fight. Spencer's worry tripled, but it confirmed, in his mind, that they were on their way to the right place.

They went in soft. No lights. No sirens. They parked half a mile away. He pulled Hotch aside as they strapped on vests. "I need to lead this."

Hotch frowned. "Spencer, you're too close to this. I shouldn't let you be here at all, much less go in."

"That's my daughter in there, Hotch." Spencer pleaded. "I need to be the one to get her. After Maeve, I need to be able to save her."

Hotch clenched his jaw, but nodded. He'd do the same if it were Jack. "S.W.A.T. leads entry. You lead the team. Get in. Get your daughter. Get out. Absolutely no interaction with Rawlins. Am I clear?"

Spencer gave a pointed look over to Morgan, who had not only strapped on a vest but also equipped himself with one of the semi-automatics. "I don't need to touch Rawlins. I just need my daughter."

Hotch nodded again, moving away to talk to Derek. It was probably a reminder that a successful use of force complaint could see Rawlins back out on the street. Reid picked his way through the men and women to where Chance paced by the back of the SUV. Gideon stood near her to keep ensure she didn't go running into the house. Ignoring his former mentor and stopping her, he pulled her into his chest, tucking her head under his chin. "I will bring her back to you."

"If he's hurt her, I'll kill him." Chance growled out.

"If he's hurt her, you won't have to." Spencer assured her. He'd never considered taking a life in cold blood before. It never made sense to do so. There were so many other ways gain justice, or vengeance, however you chose to look at it. If Rune was hurt, however, he'd pull the trigger without a second thought. He'd made the mistake of not doing that to Maeve's stalker. He wouldn't do that twice.

She deflated against him. "Promise me you'll bring her back to me." She whispered, wrapping her arms around her waist to help hold herself together. "Promise she'll be OK."

He flinched, his mind already running the statistics. Given his assumed pathology, the probability that Rawlins had harmed Rune was exceptionally small, but it was still there. "I promise I will do everything in my power to get her back to you safely."

* * *

The cabin looked more intimidating than Spencer remembered it. It had become run-down in Gideon's absence. Some of the windows were broken and multiple planks on the porch had rotted through. The dozen people approaching moved silently through the brush, lights off as a precaution.

S.W.A.T. carefully picked their way up the porch, careful not to let any boards creak. Spencer counted it as lucky that Gideon still held the lease. It meant they wouldn't have to knock before entering.

He watched as they busted through the door, splintering it on its hinges. He, and every other LEO, had to laugh when they saw the way movies portrayed this. The actual take-down was rarely ever as dramatic as they made it out to be. On the contrary, it always seemed to happen at the speed of light. One moment he was watching the S.W.A.T. commanders boot crash through the door, the next he was in the cabin, moving through the rooms with his gun at the ready, JJ covering his back. Distantly, he heard shouting in the living room, but the noise reached him like he was hearing it underwater. He didn't care what happened to Rawlins. He wanted to find Rune.

They found Bryan first. The poor man was bound and gagged, sitting in a puddle of his own urine and feces. Spencer winced, feeling sympathy for the man, but moved on, leaving him to JJ. Bryan wasn't his concern either.

Rune was in the last bedroom on the left, the same room he and Chance shared when they stayed here for holidays. He nearly laughed with relief as she attacked his legs when he entered. She had her mother's spirit. Without hesitating, he dropped his gun and squatted down to her level, carefully blocking the flurry of kicks and punches she sent at him. "Rune. Rune! Calm down. I'm not him. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to take you back to your mother."

The assault stopped as quickly as it started. "You are?"

"I'm an FBI agent. I'm going to take you back to Chance, OK? It's all over. We have the man that did this in custody. You just have to come with me, and it will all be over."

Rune launched herself at him, nearly strangling him with how tightly she wrapped her arms around his neck. Wordlessly, he patted her back one handed, waiting for someone else on the team to come find them. When Rossi finally arrived, he passed his weapon to the senior agent and picked his daughter up in his arms, carrying her from the house. Rune started crying as soon as they cleared the steps. "Shh. Shh." Spencer murmured, bouncing her lightly has they moved back through the scrub. "I've got you, little angel. Daddy's got you."

Chance met them at the edge of the road, rushing forward as soon as she saw it was Spencer coming through the trees. She practically ripped Rune from his arms, cradling her daughter to her chest. Mother and daughter sat in the grass and cried, relief and joy at being reunited emanating off them in waves. A particularly wise and sympathetic EMT chose to come to them, rather than try to force them toward the waiting ambulances.

"There are some cuts and rope burns around her wrists and ankles. We'll have to take her to the hospital and get her checked out to know for sure, but it looks like she's alright." The man said, more to tense agent standing over them protectively than to Chance or Rune themselves.

"He had me tied up, Mommy." Rune whispered brokenly. "He said that you had been in car accident and took me away from camp, but he brought me here instead of the hospital and tied me up. He said he'd bring you here soon. He put broken glass all around me so I wouldn't try to crawl away, but I used it to cut open the ropes. Why did he do this, Mommy? Why did her take me away and tie me up?"

"I don't know, baby." Chance replied, rocking them back and forth. "I don't know and it doesn't matter. I've got you and no one will ever hurt you again. I promise. No one will ever, _ever_, hurt you again."

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	18. Chapter 18

_**Pink2D: **__**Save your eyes! One update headed your way. Lol. I'm on a roll. This story will probably be finished by tomorrow morning.**_

_**ripon: **__**Thank you. I couldn't hurt Rune. Being kidnapped was bad enough.**_

* * *

Chance sent up a glare toward Nurse Ratchet. Did that woman never go home? They were keeping Rune in the hospital overnight for observation, and if she tried to wake up Rune for blood tests one more time, Chance was going to go nuclear.

Uncle Jason reached over and placed a calming hand on her shoulder, murmuring a reminder that the nurse was just doing her job. Chance ground her teeth and managed to keep quiet, but it took effort. "I'm not saying I hate that woman," she whispered, trying not to disturb Rune, "but if a bus hits her, I won't be upset."

"It's just your aversion to hospitals focusing on one nurse with an absence of bedside manner." Uncle Jason stated calmly, flipping through his book. "If she was hit by a bus, you'd feel horrible."

Chance sighed, nodding. "Yeah. Doesn't stop me from dreaming, though."

"Mommy?" Rune turned over in the bed. "Didn't we read something about violent daydreams being a healthy expression of anger with today's first world emphasis on a peaceful existence?"

Chance smiled, leaning forward to tuck the covers more tightly around her daughter. "We did." It scared her sometimes, how intelligent her daughter is. She was only average, at best, in the IQ department. If Rune was this smart now, how would she ever be able to keep up with her when the teenage years rolled around? "Which is why I don't feel guilty about them. That doesn't mean that it's right though. You're Uncle Jason was correct in saying that she's just doing her job, as well as his evaluation on my own revulsion regarding the hospital in general and your nurse in particular. A lack of bedside manner doesn't excuse me taking my nerves out on her."

Rune nodded sagely, the white bandages on her wrists standing out starkly from the dark blue blanket covering her. "Can I ask you something?"

"What's my policy on questions?"

"If I never ask, then I'll never know." The little girl plucked nervously at the bedspread. "Mommy, the man who carried me from the house, Agent Reid, he said something."

"What did he say?"

Rune blushed. "I was crying, and he was telling me that he had me. He called me a little angel, and then he said 'Daddy's got you.' Why would he say that?"

Chance's heart softened. At the same time, her stomach did flip-flops. She knew she was going to have to broach this, but she'd hope that they would be in the safe comfort of their home where she could explain everything to her daughter without the possibility of being interrupted. Uncle Jason clapped a hand on her shoulder. "I'll fend off Nurse Ratchet. I should be able to buy you fifteen minutes."

She nodded, sending her uncle a grateful smile. As soon as he closed the door behind him, she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Rune, do you remember how I told you that I don't know who your father is?" Her daughter nodded. "I lied to you. Agent Reid is your father. We dated for about nine months my senior year in college. When we broke up, I was already pregnant with you. There were some things he was involved with that I didn't ever want you around, so I moved to Mississippi and I told everyone that I didn't know who the father was, including you. I'm sorry."

"What was he involved in, Mommy?"

"It's not my place to tell you, Rune, but he'd like to." Chance reached her hand out, covering Rune's on the blanket. "I know you're probably angry, and you have every right to be, but Spencer didn't know about you. I never told him I was pregnant, so I'm the one you need to be angry at, not him. He's been working very hard to been working very hard to be allowed to be a part of your life.

"Now, I've done enough damage by lying to you for so long. I'm not going to force you to do anything. You've already met him, briefly, but if you want to meet him again, properly this time, so you two can talk, you can. He wants to, but the decision is completely yours."

Rune frowned. "Mommy, you're being dramatic."

Chance sat back, staring at her daughter in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"You're being dramatic." Rune repeated. "I'm not angry. You were scared for me. I can't be angry about that. It means you love me. And you said Agent Reid didn't know, so I can't be angry at him. It's not logical. Also, I do want to meet him. Maybe just once, though. I want to know why you were afraid. Then I'll decide."

"Are you sure, Rune? This is a big decision, and, after what you went through, it might not be a good idea to choose a course of action so quickly."

"What I went through and talking to my biological father are two separate things, Mommy." Rune replied calmly. "I do not ever want to go to camp again, and I want to stay home with you or Uncle Jason or Uncle Cory or Uncle Bryan until school starts. That is the fall-out from that man taking me. Also, I would prefer it if Uncle Jason burned that cabin to the ground, and I want to be in the court when that man goes to jail.

"But meeting and talking to Agent Reid has nothing to do with that. You are sure Agent Reid is my biological father?"

Chance flushed. "Remember how I told you babies are born?"

"A male sticks his penis in a female's vaginal canal, ejaculating semen which then swim through the uterus, and possibly the fallopian tubes, to find and fertilize an egg. The egg then implants itself in the uterine wall and, after forming and amniotic sac, begins to divide and multiply in a forty week process that eventually cumulates in the formation and birth of an infant."

She blanched. "I don't remember being that explicit about it."

"You weren't. You used a clichéd chicken story that was more confusing than helpful, so I took on of the school nurse's medical textbooks and researched the answer for myself." Rune explained. "I don't understand what the fuss is. It's all very clinical, but most adults seem flustered by the question."

"One day, little darling, when you're about to start puberty, I'll explain what sex is in less clinical terms, and then you'll understand." Chance smiled wryly. "Anyway, that process hasn't happened again since Agent Reid. He's the only one who could possibly be your father. Also, we're getting you a therapist. No six year-old should possibly be this calm about being abducted and held hostage."

"As I'm probably suffering from a form of PTSD that's causing a disconnect in my brain between the memory of the events and the proper emotional release, that is a wise decision. There is a number on the back of our insurance cards that should assist you in finding a suitable child psychologist." Rune droned monotonously. "As I was saying before we were side-tracked with what Ms. Graham called 'the birds and the bees', meeting Agent Reid is a completely separate from what that man did. I'd need to see Agent Reid again anyway to thank him for bringing me out of there. This way, I will not only see him again, I will be meeting him as my father and have the opportunity to question him on the events leading you to hide me from him and lie to me about his identity. The results of that meeting will determine whether I'd like him to have continued involvement in my life. If at all possible, I'd like the meeting to take place at our house. It would make me more comfortable."

Chance stared at her daughter in amazement. She'd like to think she'd just won the lottery in terms of her child's adjustment, but something told her it couldn't be that easy. A therapist was definitely in order. "Absolutely. Would you like to call Agent Reid yourself, or would you like me to tell him?"

Rune cocked her head to the side, thinking it over. "I'd like to call him myself." She finally decided. "It should assure him that this is my decision and not something you pushed me to agree to."

"You frighten me, child."

Rune shrugged. "It's ok. I frighten my teacher's too."

Uncle Jason poked his head in the door. "I hate to interrupt, but Garcia is calling for you." He held the phone out. "You might want to step out and take it."

Chance looked to her daughter. Rune shrugged. "Uncle Jason can sit with me. I'll be OK."

Nodding, she stood, taking the phone and stepping just outside the room. Chance dropped her voice, stopping Uncle Jason before he could go inside. "See if you can talk to her. I'm worried." Uncle Jason nodded, and closed the door behind him. Sighing, she brought the phone up to her ear. "What's up, Penny?"

"How's Rune?" The tech analyst asked. "That's not why I'm calling, but I'm not saying why I'm calling until you answer, so-"

"Physically, she's fine." Chance answered, laughing. "Mentally, I'm not so sure, but I'm going to start calling around to find her therapist as soon as they release her."

"I'll give you some numbers from the Victim Support Network for child psychologists that specialize in dealing with children who have been through a trauma."

"I'd really appreciate that. Thank you, Penny." Chance made her way away Rune's room, heading toward the vending machines. "What did you need?"

"Right. That. Please let me apologize in advance because I know this is the last thing you want to deal with, but we need to get a statement from Rune about what happened."

She sighed, feeding a couple dollars into the machine. "It's ok, Penny. I knew it had to happen eventually. Do you have to do it right now, or can it wait until I get her home so she's in comfortable surroundings?"

"They're releasing her in the morning, so we can wait until she gets home. That's not why I'm apologizing though."

Chance felt a sense of dread creep through her stomach. "Why are you apologizing?"

"It's about the unsub."

"Mike."

"He won't talk. He just keeps repeating that he wants to talk to you."

"And?"

"And we need a confession."

"Why? We caught him holed up in Uncle Jason's cabin with my kidnapped daughter. This is as close to red-handed as you can possibly get. Why do you need to get a confession?"

"If we can get him to confess, we can get him to take a deal and we won't have to drag Rune through a trial." Penny explained, patiently. "He's playing along right now. He hasn't asked for a lawyer, even though they offer him one every hour, and Derek hasn't let up on him since they got him in the interrogation room."

"But?"

"But he won't confess to anyone but you. He says he wants to explain himself, and you're the only one he'll explain himself to. We need you to talk to him, Chance."

"Nope. Not happening."

"Chance-"

"I'm not leaving my daughter to go talk to the man that kidnapped her!"

"Not even if it means saving your daughter from having to face him in open court and going through a cross-examination at the hands of his lawyer."

"You said he didn't have a lawyer."

"If this has to go to trial, he'll get one."

Chance sighed, banging her head against the glass of the vending machine. "Compromise. If, by the time Derek has finished taking her statement tomorrow, he still hasn't confessed, then I'll come in. If he has, then it's a non-issue. Deal?"

"Deal. But JJ was going to be the one to come get her statement."

"Send them both. JJ can stay with Rune if I have to go back. I don't want to leave her unless I know she'll be protected."

"Aren't you overreacting?"

"Maybe. But that's how it works. No FBI protection for my daughter while I'm away, no help getting a confession."

Penny sighed. "Maybe I should send Spencer instead? He is her father."

"And Rune knows that, but I don't think he should take her statement. She wants to talk to him, but I don't think giving him a play by play of what that man did to her is exactly what she had in mind."

"Noted. OK. You should be home by eleven tomorrow. I'll have Blake and JJ come over at noon to talk to her, because Derek isn't leaving that interrogation room until the unsub confesses, and, if he hasn't broke by the time they're done, JJ will stay with Rune and Blake will bring you back to Quantico."

"Deal." Chance leaned down, pulling out her Dr. Pepper and getting Sprites for Uncle Jason and Rune. "And thank you, Penny. I know you didn't want to be the one to ask me this."

"The general consensus was that you'd yell at anyone else."

She chuckled, tucking the cokes into crook of her arm. "The general consensus was right. I've got to go, Penny. Uncle Jason is sitting with Rune while I'm talking to you and I need to get back."

"Gone, baby. Take care of that precious girl. Hopefully, I won't see you tomorrow."

"Hopefully." Chance echoed, ignoring Nurse Ratchet's glare as she walked by the nurse's station still on the phone. "Talk to you later, love."

* * *

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	19. Chapter 19

Cory sat on her. Physically sat on her. He hadn't done that since she was seventeen and got into a fight with his now ex-wife. "You're not going in there, Chancellor."

"She's my daughter and she's crying!" Chance yelled, beating on his chest with her fists and bringing her knees up into his back. "Get off!"

Cory glanced over at Uncle Jason, who shook his head. "Sorry, little sister. You have to let the professionals handle this."

"She's probably coming out of shock and starting to realize what happened to her." Uncle Jason said soothingly. "This is a good thing."

"My daughter is having to recount what happened to her while she's surrounded by a bunch of strangers, and you call this good?!"

"Yes, I do. There is a reason we prefer to interview the children away from their parents. They're more likely to reveal more details without their mother or father present."

Chance stilled at that. "What do you mean?"

Uncle Jason sighed, back cracking he sat on floor near her head. "Most children are instinctually empathetic. There are a few exceptions of course, but, for the most part, they pick up on the feelings of the people around them, especially those they're close to, like their parents, and try to make them feel better. In cases where the child has gone through a traumatic experience and they can feel how worried their parents are for them, they'll often lie or leave out parts that they know are particularly bad in order to make their parents feel better. We try to circumvent that by interviewing the child away from the parents and that is why Cory is going to continue to sit on you until JJ or Agent Blake says it's OK for you to go see her. Am I clear, Chancellor?"

"Does he have to sit on me?"

"You're sneaky and fast. Yes, he has to sit on you."

"Fine." She dropped her head back against the floor. She could still her Rune's sniffles in the other room, along with JJ quietly crooning to her. Part of her thanked whatever god listening for giving Penny the foresight to send not only someone Chance trusted, but someone who was also a parent. Yes, everyone at the BAU was trained in how to interview children, but there was something parenthood granted you that went beyond training. The other part of her still wanted to hit her brother below the belt, literally, and go to her child.

It seemed to take ages for Blake to poke her head in and say they were finished. Cory barely had time to shift to the side before Chance was wriggling out from under him and rushing to the kitchen. Rune's eyes were red-rimmed, and the occasional hiccup still escaped, but she had calmed down. Chance gathered her in her arms and cradled her against her chest. That's all it took for Rune to start crying again.

The tears were heartbreaking. They seemed to come from her little girl's soul, like a part of her had fractured and she had no idea how to glue herself back together. Chance didn't know how to glue her together either. She glanced toward JJ, who shrugged helplessly. This sealed it. They were both getting counseling. Rune for what she'd gone through, and Chance for advice on how to be a better parent.

Blake stepped in quietly, sending a cryptic nod toward JJ. JJ, in her turn, grimaced, and sent Chance an apologetic frown. Chance nodded, resigned, and held her daughter a little tighter. He was completely off his rocker, but he'd been honest. Mike was truly persistent.

Once Rune's sibs faded to hiccups once again, she carefully tilted her daughter's face up. "I've got to go with Agent Blake, little darling, but I'll be back soon, OK? Uncle Jason and Uncle Cory are going to be here, and Agent Jareau is going to stay with you."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Two or three hours at most." Chance tried to make it light. "You know what? I bet if you make your eyes real big and pout at Uncle Jason, he'll sit and watch Lord of the Rings with you. I'll be back before _The Two Towers_ is over."

"Do you promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die?"

"Will you bring Agent Reid with you?"

"Do you want me to?"

Rune paused, resting her head against Chance's shoulder while she thought about it. "Does he really want to meet me, Mommy?"

JJ came into action, squatting beside Rune and rubbing calming circles on the girl's back. "Do you know that he hasn't stopped talking about you since he found out he was your father?"

Rune grabbed onto the distraction, letting it pull her further away from the awful memories of her time in the cabin. "He hasn't?"

"Not for a single second, and trust me, he can talk _a lot_." JJ joked, drawing a smile out of Rune. "He brags all the time about how pretty you are, and how great your report cards are. He talks about all the cool stuff he's seen in your scrapbooks, and he's been reading all sorts of books your mom says you like, just so he'll have something to talk to you about."

"Really?"

"Yep. You know, I'd like to see those scrapbooks too. Do you think you could sit down and show them to me?"

"You just want to distract me so Mommy won't feel so bad about leaving." It was an observation, not an accusation.

JJ smiled, shaking her head. "That's true, but I'd still like to see the scrapbooks. Spencer's been talking about them so much that I feel like I need to go through them just so I can tell him I know what he means, for once."

Hesitantly, Rune slipped her hand into JJ's outstretched one, slipping down from Chance's lap. "What do you mean 'for once'?"

JJ led Rune away, chatting about how smart her father was and filling her in the same way Chance had spent the past month catching up Spencer. Chance watched them nervously. Rune would be safe in JJ's hands, and she'd be surrounded by FBI agents when she went in to talk to Mike, but she was still afraid. Some irrational part of her brain thought that if she let Rune out of her sight, even for a second, she'd lose her again.

"Come on." Blake said softly, jerking her head toward the door. "The sooner we finish this, the sooner you can come back to your daughter."

* * *

Penny met her in the bullpen, immediately pulling Chance into a tight hug. For once, the woman didn't have anything to say. She just held Chance and tried to physically express that it was all going to be OK. Neither one of them believed it, which was why Chance wasn't surprised to see therapists for parents as well as children on the list Penny passed her. "How's Bryan?"

"Stable. He'll need to be in the hospital for a few more days. The unsub broke a few ribs."

Chance winced. Bryan didn't deserve that. He was a good man. She's go see him tomorrow and offer to put him up at her place. She couldn't see him wanting to go back to his duplex anytime soon.

She was handed off to Derek next. He looked haggard, but he'd been up for close to 36 hours, so it was to be expected. This time it was her time to try to physically express that everything would be OK. She wasn't any better at convincing Derek than Penny had been at convincing her. He tucked her under his arm and led her back toward the interrogation room.

Spencer was waiting by the glass with Hotch and a rather severe looking man who Chance assumed was prosecutor. She was proven right when he stepped forward and started babbling. "Ms. Becker, just a few notes before you go in. Agent Rossi has agreed to accompany you. You are to let him do all the talking and-"

Hotch cut the man off with a wave. "We'll explain the process, counselor. Why don't you go grab some coffee? We'll wait until you get back before we send her in."

The man looked on the edge of arguing, but the three, simultaneous, glares from Spencer, Derek, and Hotch seemed to make him think better of it. Spencer moved forward as soon as he was out of sight. "I told them not to ask you to do this." He whispered, tucking her head under his chin. "Rawlins is sleep deprived. Statistically speaking, he should break in another six hours. Maybe eight considering the hectic job he used to have."

Chance shrugged, pulling back slightly. "Why waste eight hours of everyone's time when I can go in and end this now?"

"Because you live true to the stereotype of a red-head with a terrible temper and I'd prefer 1) not to have to explain to the courts why a suspect in our custody was asphyxiated in our custody, and 2) not to put you through any more stress than what you've already experienced over the past two days."

Chance laughed, pressing her forehead against his sternum. "Has it only been two days? It feels like two years."

"That's precisely my point." Spencer said, tilting her head up. "You've been through enough. Let me handle this."

_Let me take care of you this time_. That's what he was really saying. If it was just about her, Chance would have let him. She was tired. Her bones ached with the effort of doing this alone. Just once she'd like to be able to leave the hard decisions up to someone else. She couldn't though. If she didn't do this, her daughter would pay the price. Rune had suffered enough for her bad decisions. "I can't, Spencer. Not this time."

"Counselor Pain-in-the-Ass is heading back." Derek warned. Spencer and Chance quickly stepped away from each other. "Just let Rossi do the talking." He whispered, a frantic note coming to his voice. "We'll be right here. And Chance?" She looked up at him. "No matter the consequences, if he moves toward you, you get out. Do you understand? He's in shackles, but if he tries to touch you, you leave the room."

She felt the prosecutor's eyes on the back of her neck. "Yes, Agent Reid."

Spencer frowned, but tapped on the glass. Rossi stopped in the middle of some spiel he'd been giving and stepped outside. The older agent looked at her questioningly. Straightening her shoulders, she held her head high and walked toward the door.

Mike lit up when she came into the room. "I knew you'd come see me."

Chance didn't fall for the bait. Instead, she carefully seated herself across from him. Rossi was standing back, letting her take the reins for now. "Why?"

"Because you had to. What we have-"

"Do _not_ finish that sentence." She hissed, holding her hand up. "That's not what I meant and you know it. Tell me why."

The hopeful, giddy look Mike had been wearing fell away, revealing what she'd expected. It was just a ruse. He'd been trying to make it look like he was crazy, and he was, but not in the stalker-like attachment way he'd been trying to pull off. It was too perfect. Too textbook. It had sat wrong with her from the beginning. Even the craziest stalkers knew to hide their tracks. They wouldn't sit there and openly break every pattern in their book, not when they were already close to their target. "Control, Chance. It's all about control."

The way he said it seemed to slither down her spine, making her shudder. "What do you mean?"

"You'd be so much fun to control. I could tell that from the beginning. And I know what you're thinking back there, Agent Rossi, but it's not what you think. Yes, she's," he leaned forward, sniffing the air around her, "mmm, deliciously independent, but that's not what would make her fun. It's been my experience that the more independent a woman seems, the quicker they submit. That's no fun. No, you'd be fun, Chance, because of your cynicism.

"Oh, you think you're an idealist, I know, but we both know that, deep down, you're nothing more than a cynic wrapped in a masquerade of optimism. Cynics are special, Agent Rossi. There are very few true cynics in this world. True cynics have entered hell and reemerged with Satan bowing after them. They have this inner core of steel. They have to in order to combat seeing the world as one huge cesspool of greed and hatred and depravity. If you can gain control over a cynic, you can control anyone and anything."

"Nice speech." Chance spit out, drawing on that inner core of steel. Actually, she was only drawing on her anger. Anger was so much better than fear. Anger made you feel powerful instead of weak. It also made you say stupid things. "So, what? This was all some kind of power-play for you? Because I've got to say, there are far better ways to deal with your bean stalk being a bean sprout. Have you considered Viagra? Or perhaps a penis pump?"

Mike laughed. "That. That right there is what would have made you fun. That defiance."

"I thought it was my cynicism."

"The defiance is part of your cynicism. It's your way of spitting in the world's face. It's glorious."

"And you're insane. You still haven't explained why. Are you going to get to that soon? Because I'm running a little tight on time."

"Why?" He leaned forward. Chance couldn't believe she ever thought he was handsome. He wasn't attractive. He was maniacal. "Because everyone, even the cynic, has their weak spot. Find that. _Take_ that, and you have complete control. Yours is your family. How does it feel to know you couldn't protect them? Hell, you practically gave me permission to get your daughter. And Bryan? He might as well have offered himself up on a silver platter."

"'Get' my daughter? You didn't 'get' my daughter. And Bryan didn't offer himself up." Chance growled out, the words hitting too close to home. "You want control. Let me tell you about control. Control is truth. I learned that the hard way. Why don't you tell the truth? Why don't you say what you really did to them?"

"I took them." Mike admitted, sounding proud. "I took them from where they were supposed to be safe. I took them from where you believed they'd be secure. I defiled their supposedly protected environments. I showed you they'd never be safe, not from me. I will always get to them."

Rossi tapped her shoulder, trying to signal that they had everything they needed, but Chance wasn't done yet. "What else did you do, Mike? Not to them. To me. What did you do to me?"

"I destroyed your sense of control." He spat smugly, sitting back. The shackles clanked ominously. "And I took it for myself. Or are you talking about the GHB?"

"You tell me."

"More control, Chance. Have you ever seen someone on GHB? They're so… pliable. It's a rush. Of course, you had to be defiant about even that. Double the dose and you were only woozy by the time you made it to safety. Then I saw your little FBI boyfriend and knew I'd have to up my plans."

"How did you know he was FBI?"

"I saw him on the news. Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan. I wonder what he thought about his slut stepping out with me."

There was a crash on the other side of the glass, but Chance ignored it. "You said 'your plans.' You always planned on doing this?"

"Taking your daughter and friend? Of course. I could tell from the beginning that, even if I did manage to drug you, it wouldn't be enough to break you. You can handle what happens to you. Part of your cynicism. No, if I wanted to pull you apart, I was going to have to take everything precious to you. And I did."

"And then you lost it, along with your freedom." Rossi tapped her shoulder again, and Chance heeded the message this time. "Thank you, Mike. May you rot in hell."

"See you soon, Chance." He called as she walked away. "And tell that sweet little girl of your that I'll see her in court."

Her steps never faltered, even though she felt sick to her stomach with fear. It didn't sound like he was going to take any deal. Rune might have to testify after all. This was all for nothing.

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	20. Chapter 20

As soon as the door closed behind her, Chance rushed to the trash bin and heaved. She felt Spencer's cool fingers on the back of her neck. It didn't help. She only vomited more.

She could hear Rossi now, through the loudspeaker. He was trying to intimidate Mike into taking a deal. He didn't get it. He'd been standing right there, listening to every word, but he still didn't get it. It was more control. If Mike could force it to go to trial then he could force Rune and Bryan to testify and it would give him one more scrap of control over her and her family. To hell with that.

Angrily, she whirled on the prosecutor. "Well? What are you waiting for? You wanted a confession, you got it. Now get in there and get him to take a deal."

The man blanched. "Ma'am, I-"

"You are going to go in there and do your job, because I work for a congressman who'd love nothing more to do a favor for his favorite staff member and bust your balls by calling your boss. And I warn you now, if my daughter has to testify against this man, or if my friend has to face him in open court, I will do everything in my power and call in every favor owed to me, from numerous politicians and agency directors, to make your life a living hell."

The man blanched and scurried into the room. Hotch huffed out a laugh, passing a cup of water to Spencer to pass to her. "Can we keep you around? I have a few more people I'd like you to threaten."

Chance pressed her lips into a thin line. She wouldn't really do that. She was saving her favors for letters of recommendation when it came time for Rune to apply to colleges. Plus, the man couldn't force Mike to take a deal, no matter how much she wished otherwise. Still, it couldn't hurt to give him a little extra incentive.

Spencer kept a hand at the small of her back. "Come on, Chance. You can't do anything more here. Let me take you home."

"I'm not going anywhere until I know whether he's going to take a deal or if he's really going to take this to trial." She said stubbornly, planting her feet.

"Then at least let me take to get some coffee." He pleaded. "We both could use it, and you don't need to be here right now. Let's get a little distance. Hotch will call if anything changes."

Chance glared at the glass, but nodded, letting Spencer lead her away. She could see Penny and Derek arguing up at the round table, but couldn't hear them through the glass. "She's trying to convince Derek to get some rest." Spencer explained. "He's sleep deprived and when Rawlins made that comment about promiscuity, Derek lost his temper."

"I heard the scuffle."

"Hotch had to drag him away."

"I'm sorry." She rubbed her temples. "I should have told you to turn it over to the locals."

"That wasn't going to happen, Chance." Spencer said. "You are part of our family. Even if you had asked, we would have ignored you."

"Should we at least see if they want to come with us. I might not be the only one who needs some distance."

"Garcia will take care of Morgan." He assured her, leading her toward the elevators. "Besides, I need to talk to you. I received an interesting call from our daughter before you arrived."

Chance groaned. She'd nearly forgotten about that. "I was going to talk to you. Really. I was just preoccupied."

"She wants me to come over." He said softly while they waited for the elevator.

"She wants me to bring you back with me." Chance corrected. "Scared?"

"Terrified."

"I'll send Cory and Uncle Jason for take-out and give you free range of the back yard, if that makes you feel any better."

"Actually," he began, as the doors dinged open, "I was hoping we could have a family dinner. While I'm well aware that your brother despises the air I breathe, and Gideon isn't still seems torn, as if he still needs to pick a side, but we are all stuck with each other now. At least during birthdays and holidays. It would be better for Rune if we could come to an agreement of tolerant disdain now, rather than wait for my new involvement in her life to cause a problem."

"What exactly did Rune say to you?"

"Just that she knew I was her father and would like to talk to me. Why?"

Chance sighed. "Spencer, she does want to talk to you. She has a lot of questions, mainly about why I hid her from you and lied to her about you. She's waiting until she gets those answers before she decides whether or not she wants you to be a permanent part of her life."

"Why didn't you tell her?"

"Because all the answers revolve around your past, and I won't be the one to tell her about that. I confessed to my mistakes. You have to do the same for yours."

Spencer blanched. "Please don't ask me to do that, Chance. If she knows, she'll never want me in her life."

"Somehow I don't think that will be a problem." Chance countered wryly. "We're talking about the same girl who isn't even angry with me for lying to her since she was born." The doors opened on the first floor. Chance took Spencer's arm, looping her hand through and leading him from the elevator. "I've been telling you, she's like you. All logic and rationale. If you show her that you're clean now and that you want nothing more than to be her father, she'll let you.

"Honestly, I think she's more afraid of meeting you than you are of meeting her." Chance added as he led her to the coffee stand down the road. "Before I left, she asked me if you really wanted to meet her. JJ stepped in to reassure her, but, if you really want this, you are both going to have to assure each other that you want to grow a father-daughter relationship."

"What about you?" Spencer asked, stopping her in the street and turning her to face him. "Do you want us to have a father-daughter relationship?"

"I want what's best for Rune, and having you in her life will be good for her, especially now." Chance hedged.

He watched her suspiciously for moment but nodded, and they continued on to the coffee shop. Once they had their drinks, they found a comfortable bench and began planning out how that evening would go. Chance's kitchen was sadly bare. Uncle Jason and Cory at three times as much as Chance and Rune put together, and the fend-for-yourself Friday night with Derek, Spencer, and Penny hadn't helped matters. If he was the one to take her home, they'd need to stop at the grocery store so she could pick up some supplies for supper. Spencer's phone rang while they were arguing about whether or not just to order take-out to grab on the way home.

Chance waited, tense and uncertain. It was Hotch on the other end of that line. She knew it. She couldn't hear him, but she knew it. When Spencer's entire body seemed to slump with relief, she let out the breath she'd been holding. "Ok. Thanks Hotch. I'm going to take Chance home. I'll do the paperwork in the morning." He hung up, turning to her and smiling brightly. "Two counts of kidnapping, one count of child endangerment, and one count of attempted rape, all to be served consecutively. He'll get out in about 80 years."

Chance gaped. 80 years. He'd be in there for the rest of his life. Rune would never have to worry about him again. Bryan would never have to look over his shoulder. They were safe. She lunged at Spencer, wrapping her arms around his neck, laughing and crying at the same time. It was over. Her family was safe. "How-"

"The prosecutor listed every single, tiny thing he could charge Rawlins for, even the things that would only get him six months or that were technically considered white collar crimes, and Rawlins caved. He'd confessed to it all, and he left a paper trail. If he took it to court, he'd be found guilty on all of them. So he cut a deal for the eighty years and incarceration in a prison in Club Fed."

Chance slumped back against the bench, leaning her head back and smiling into the sunshine. Excited, she grabbed Spencer's hand, pulling him back toward FBI headquarters. "Come on, Spence. What are you waiting for? I want to get home to our daughter, and you need to meet her."

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	21. Chapter 21

**_Supernatural Creatures Rock100:_ Yes ma'am! *salutes* These next two chapters are the last in the story. Thank you for the review, and I'm glad you like Rune. I can't wait to get to write more of her in the sequel.**

_**Pink2D: **_**I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Real life interrupted again. I didn't get a chance to warn you that those weren't the last chapters. These are, though, at least for this story. Thanks for sticking through until the end.**

_**ripon: **_**Unfortunately, this part of the tale is almost over. Thank you for the reviews and for sticking through until the end. **

_**LeedsUK:**_** I hope it doesn't disappoint. Sorry about the avalanche of chapters. My daughter went to spend the night with her grandparents and my husband was working, so I actually had time to sit down and just write for hours.**

_**Areylia: **_**Lol. I'm glad you like her. I figured a child of someone as intelligent as Reid and stubborn as Chance had to be pretty unique. And, thankfully, chapter 20 was good-bye Mike. No more mentally unstable control freak to make Chance and Rune's life a living hell.**

_**Natalie: **_**Lol. Thank you, Ms. Natalie. I was actually worried when I broke from my roll and realized that I'd uploaded six chapters in a very short period of time. I hadn't meant to spam everyone's e-mail. I hope these last two chapters don't disappoint, and thank you for sticking with me through the end.**

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Spencer drummed his fingers against the table, nervously. JJ bolted out of there as soon as he and Chance hit the door. Hotch had apparently informed her that they all had tomorrow and Tuesday off since they'd worked through the weekend, and she'd been anxious to get home to Will and Henry.

Chance had "forgotten" to pick up a dessert at the grocery store and sent Cory and Gideon out toward three different bakeries to try to find some baklava. If they couldn't find any, they had to go to a completely different bakery and get a German Chocolate cake. After they'd left, she'd admitted that she had no idea if any of them actually sold the items she'd requested and had just chose four bakeries at random from the phone book. She said they had about two hours before her brother and uncle came back, so they better make the most of it.

So far, Spencer and Rune had spent thirty minutes of it staring at each other in the backyard while Chance prepped an early dinner in the kitchen.

Rune was gorgeous. She was truly the most beautiful child he'd ever seen. Slender and petite, she came up to his hip. Her hair fell in big, loose curls down to her shoulder, and she kept pushing it out of eerily familiar hazel eyes. She had long, willowy fingers she'd kept folded on the table and pert little nose that turned up at the tip, just like her mother's. He couldn't believe she was his daughter. He couldn't believe he was a father. He'd been dreaming about it for weeks, and now that the moment was here, he was frozen.

He didn't know where to start. What was he supposed to say? "Nice to meet you. Sorry I was such a drug addict at your conception that your mother panicked and ran half-way across the country to save you from ever having to see that, but I'm all better now." That would go over well.

"You don't look like a 'Daddy.'" Rune suddenly said, cocking her head to the side.

Spencer flushed. "My skin has aged a slower rate than what my physical years would suggest, giving me the appearance of more youth than I actually possess."

"That's not what I meant." Rune said calmly. "In a country with a rising rate of teen births, probably from that ridiculous, abstinence-only, version of sex education they insist on keeping in public schools as not to offend fundamentally religious parents, there are several fathers who appear far too young for the role. Our next door neighbour in Mississippi was 17 and already had two children. Of course, they were twins, but the fact remains.

"What I meant was, the name 'Daddy' doesn't seem to suit you. You're more like a 'Papa' or maybe a 'Pop.'" She continued, picking up a leaf that had fallen and twirling it between her fingers. "Which would you prefer?"

"Papa. I suppose." He answered hesitantly.

"That is my preference as well. What were you involved in that scared Mommy?"

The words were said so calmly, without a change in inflection, that Spencer had to do a double take. When it became apparent that no, he hadn't misheard, his daughter really did just ask him that in the same tone of voice she used to tell him she'd prefer to call him 'Papa'. He started fishing. Something wasn't right. "Do you like Star Trek?"

"That's not answering my question."

"I know. Play along."

Rune looked at him suspiciously. "Yes."

"Which is your favourite series?"

"The Next Generation."

Spencer grinned. "I like the original series, myself. Spock is my favourite character."

"I like Data." Rune admitted.

He felt himself relax. He was getting somewhere. "Do you ever pretend to be him? Maybe when you're scared, or upset?"

"How did you know?"

"I used to pretend to be Spock." He told her, leaning forward on the picnic table. "It makes it easier, right? To pretend emotions are baffling and logic and knowledge are all there is?"

"Emotions _are_ baffling." Rune stressed, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting.

Spencer shrugged, going back to tapping on the picnic table. "That doesn't mean you don't feel them, and not being able to understand them is no reason not to express them. When in doubt, research the chemical causes behind each specific emotion and fall back on that knowledge to help you understand your physiological response."

Rune nodded, frowning slightly. "What are the chemical causes behind anxiety?"

"Would you like me to be honest with you?" He asked. She nodded eagerly. "It's not so much a chemical reaction as it is an overload between the circuits in our brain connecting fear and reward. Are you anxious now?" She nodded again, leaning forward. "Then the reward now would be acceptance. You don't have to worry about that. I will not find you lacking in any degree. You are already the most amazing person to ever come into my life."

Her eyes widened, blinking at him in shock. "I am?"

"You are, Rune." He sighed, buckling down to what he hated telling her. "When your mother and I were together, we never had what most people refer to as puppy love, or, if we did, it was far before we were ever considered a couple. When we started, it began more like hero worship and transformed into something… else. I'm not sure how to describe it other than to tell you that the mere thought of your mother used to infuse me with an overload of serotonin and oxytocin. Then I went through a trauma." He paused, drawing in a deep breath. It had been years since he talked about what drove him to drug use. "I was kidnapped, tortured, and drugged against my will. The PTSD it caused, and the memories it dragged up, led me to continued drug use that nothing, not even my response to your mother, could shake me out of.

"She tried, harder than anyone who knew me at the time, to pull me away from it, and, when she found out she was pregnant with you, I said something very stupid that caused her own childhood fears to rear their head and she ran. You are aware that your uncle was an alcoholic?" Spencer asked suddenly, unaware if his daughter knew that part of her family history.

Rune nodded. "Mommy hides the alcohol whenever he comes over, even though he never even asks for a beer when we go out to eat. That's Uncle Bryan."

Spencer smiled softly. "That's because there was a time when he drank constantly, to the point that your mother was nearly taken and put into the foster system. It scared him away from drinking, but the damage had been done. Your mother still remembers how difficult life was when he was drinking and, when I was using, she asked me to quit. More than that, before she left, she told me that I had to quit or she was finished. I was too deep in the throes of my addiction and chose the drug. Drawing on that pain and her memories, you're mother left without ever telling me she was pregnant. I'm not saying it makes what she did right. In fact, there are moments when I'm still very angry with her for that. Still, we both made bad decisions during that point in our lives, and they've ended up affecting you more than us. I'm sorry for that."

"Do you still use drugs?"

"Not once in almost seven years."

"Why didn't you ever try to find Mommy after you quit using?"

Spencer sighed. She would pick the more difficult question. "Many reasons. Your Uncle Jason advised against it and refused to tell me how to get in contact with her. I was too proud to ask my friends for help. More than anything, though, I was ashamed. I didn't feel like I deserved her anymore, not after the terrible way I'd treated her while I was using."

"Are you happy she's back now?"

He paused. He had to navigate this one carefully. Chance already said she didn't want to give Rune a false hope that her biological parents would start a romantic relationship. "I'm happy she's back because it means I was able to learn about your existence and meet you."

Rune blushed, and he was charmed to find out that the tips of her ears turned red just like Chance's. "You're happy to meet me?"

"Happy, and afraid."

"Why are you afraid?"

"Because the circuits connecting fear and reward in my brain are overloaded and sending the message that, now that you know why your mother felt like she needed to hide you from me and lie to you about me, you won't want me in your life."

Rune slid off her side of the picnic bench and came to sit next to him. Awkwardly, she lifted up his arm and laid it across her shoulders, resting her head against his chest. "Papa?" He looked down at her in shock, feeling like the Grinch on Christmas morning. "Can you make me a promise?"

"Anything, little angel."

"Never, ever, _ever_, use drugs again."

Spencer scooted away from her a bit, taking her shoulders in his hands and leaning down so that they could look each other in the eyes. "Rune, I promise that I will never use any drugs again. I will never do anything that could possibly hurt you or lead to me not being allowed to see you."

Rune grinned, launching herself forward and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Thank you, Papa."

Spencer picked her up, settling her on his lap and rocking back and forth. For the first time since Maeve died, he didn't feel depressed, or angry, or guilty. It felt like the world had finally righted itself, or maybe this little girl who now called him 'Papa' was just enough to ground him.

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	22. Chapter 22

_**Author's Note:**__** This is the last chapter of Best Kept Secrets, everyone. I can't express how happy I am that there is going to be a sequel. I'm not ready to let go of these characters, and, as Yuuki no Yuki pointed out, there's a nice little loophole that I can't wait to play with.**_

_**Let me take this moment to thank everyone who's stuck with this story from the beginning. I know there were some times that you wanted to throw your hands up and scream at me to get on with it. I hope the end result is worth your patience.**_

_**Thank you again to all my reviewers, favorites, and followers. You kept this story going.**_

_**Love,**_

_**J.M.**_

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Chance shrieked, feeling a set of ice-cold hands grab onto her hips. Instinctually, she turned around, striking out with the spoon in her hand. It smacked Spencer on the nose, leaving a white smear of alfredo sauce. "Oh my god! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"You did." Spencer corrected, laughing and swiping at the sauce. "It's OK. I startled you."

She stepped back, nearly slipping in the puddle of water he was steadily dripping on her kitchen floor. "Why are you soaking wet?"

"Rune wanted to play in the water hose." He admitted sheepishly. "Was that alright? I didn't think to ask."

Chance shook her head, smiling. Carefully, she picked around the puddle, ordering him to stay put. She grabbed a few towels from the hall closet and brought them back, dropping one on the ground to mop up the mess. "Stand on that." She commanded. "And it's fine. I take it things went well, then?"

"She wants me to stay in her life." Spencer replied, sounding amazed, if muffled, from under the towel he was using to dry his hair. "She calls me 'Papa.'"

Chance laughed, pulling up the towel to see the wonder and joy on his face. "Well then, Papa, finish drying off and go take a towel to our daughter. I'll get your go bag from the car and grab some clothes from her room so you can both change. Uncle Jason and Cory just called. By some miracle, that last bakery actually had a small German Chocolate cake for sale and they're on their way home. Dinner will be ready in about an hour."

She huffed out another laugh, dropping the towel down. Spencer grabbed her before she could make it too far, pulling her back against his chest. Hesitantly, his arms rested around her waist and he settled his chin on her shoulder. "Are you alright with this, Chance? And please, don't try to prevaricate and tell me that it's best for Rune. Are you happy with me becoming a part of her life?"

"I don't know." She murmured, her heart hammering out of her chest. She loved and hated this. It brought back too many memories, but she couldn't bring herself to move away. "I wish I could tell you something different, but I don't know. Right now, I just need some time to adjust."

He nodded, burying his face in her neck. Experimentally, he tightened his arms, elated to feel her relax against him. "I'll give you time, Chance. We both need it." He whispered, dragging his face up to say the words directly into her ear. "Eventually, we're going to have to discuss something just as important as Rune."

Using every bit of will she had left, Chance pulled away, turning to face him. "You still have a lot to learn, Spence." She joked, patting his shoulder. "Nothing is as important as Rune. Go take her a towel. I'll bring the clothes out in a few minutes."

He reached out for her again, but she adroitly stepped away, waving over her shoulder as she hurried up the stairs. She closed the door to Rune's bedroom behind her, resting back against it. They couldn't go down that road. She'd let Spencer take too many liberties over the past few days. She'd relied on him too much for comfort and support. This could destroy them both if she let it get out of hand.

Resolutely, she pulled a dry set of clothes out of Rune's dresser and plodded back downstairs to go out the front door and to the SUV Spencer had borrowed from headquarters. After grabbing the go bag, she went around to the side gate.

Spencer was kneeling on the ground, rubbing the towel over Rune's hair to draw out the excess moisture. Rune was looking up at him like he was God himself, with shock and surprise wrapped up in elation. She'd never seen that look on her daughter's face before.

Things still had so far to go. Their lives were all off-kilter, and they had to get them back on track. Still, when Spencer looked over at her, smiling a soft, proud smile, and Rune, sopping wet and laughing like the innocent child she was, ran over to her, bouncing and begging to be picked up, something told her that it wouldn't be as hard as it sounded.

They had each other now, the three of them. It wasn't much, but it was more than they'd ever had before. When Spencer came over and wrapped them both in his arms, pressing a kiss to Rune's forehead and tucking Chance's head under his chin, Chance was reminded that sometimes, only sometimes, you had to go to the places you've been before in order to get to where you're supposed to be. And sometimes, only sometimes, where you were supposed to be was only a few steps beyond where you'd already been.

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	23. Chapter 23

To everyone who's interested,

The first chapter of the sequel, ...Always Comes to Light, is up now. I can't promise how regularly I'll update. School is hitting me hard and I'll probably only have one or two days a week to seriously sit down and write. Thank you for all the support you've given me through this, and several other, stories. As always, I won't always be fast, but I won't abandon the story.

Love,

J.M.


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